Building Control Approval - Loft Conversion

maybe_tomorrow_2

Ok, what information should I ask for/be entitled from the current owner regarding the loft conversion? What should he have received from the builders (assuming not a cowboy) when they completed the works? Has anyone had a loft conversion done recently for storage space rather than habitable space that could advise on this?

iamcornholio

It's largely irrelevant what you ask the owner. He may well have paid £30k for what he thought was a proper and authorised conversion and got neither, and be non the wiser. THe onus is on you to investigate and discover

Your legal advisor will do the normal searches regarding permissions

And your surveyor can conform if there are signs of structural distress or not, or if there are H&S issues with the work. It is possible for unauthorised work to have been done satisfactorily.

Ultimately, any offer you make should based on the risks (ie costs) which you may incur

If you agree an indemnity policy as part of the sale, then this will prevent you from contacting building control

Leif

maybe_tomorrow wrote: »

What worries me is why the current owner didnt spend the extra money (I'm estimating about £800!) to put a small section of partition wall and a door in and try and get building control approval for a habitable room. It has plumbing (radiators) and electrics installed already too.

Sounds like he done it cheaply knowing he wouldnt get control approval?

As others have said earlier, the chances are that he used the original joists, which were not designed to support a loft room, and hence they might not be strong enough for the job. Whether or not you get approval, I would not want to use it as a living space. For one thing he will have increased the load on the joists simply by putting down floor boards, and possibly other structures, so even if it is not used, it might be a liability. He might also have removed some of the roof structure, further weakening it. I saw several houses with iffy loft conversions. I ran, as I did not want to find that the roof was no longer sound. Were you to get some sort of insurance from the seller, what would that cover you for, and what would be the conditions?

baldelectrician

This is in Scotland where things are more srict

If the work was done after 1st May 2005 then the current building regs will apply

The regulations you have to adhere to are the regs in force THE DAY YOU APPLY FOR PERMISSION, not the regs in force when the works were done

The house sale will probably fail without a building warrant completion certificate.

If you apply for approval you will almost certaily have to;

1. Install insulation (kingspan, not glass wool)
2. Install lights with an efficiancy of 55 lumens per circuit watt- LED lights or similar
3. Reinforce the existing joists
4. Get a sructural survey and a certificate from an approved certifier of construction (structural)

You will probably have to remove the floor, bolt on joists to the side of the existing ones (to strengthen them). In doing this you will probably need to rewire the lights on the ground floor (plus relocate / rewire any wiring that runs on the mid-floor)

Building control can issue an enforcement notice requiring the owner to bring the installation to a required standard, or put the dwelling back the way it was.

Tread carefully- make sure the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed before buying

Owain_Moneysaver

maybe_tomorrow wrote: »

Has anyone had a loft conversion done recently for storage space rather than habitable space that could advise on this?

That would not be a 'loft conversion'. There is no recognition of 'storage space' that is less than habitable space.

See also this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/51339315#Comment_51339315

southcoastrgi

you can do a couple of basic checks, just by looking at the house, have the internal doors got self closers on them (or did they have & been removed) ? do the doors have fire strips rebated into the doors ? they should be fire rated doors but this difficult sometimes to tell when they are hung if you don't know what to look for, is there mains powered smoke alarms ?, & go to the building control office & tell them you are interested in buying the house & has it gone through building control for a loft conversion, because if it hasn't you can bet it's been done on the cheap & it could cost you alot of money to put right, plus what is the estate agent marketing the house as are they classing the loft as a bedroom ?.

Leif

keithgillyon wrote: »

ythey should be fire rated doors but this difficult sometimes to tell when they are hung if you don't know what to look for

As far as I can tell, normal doors are about 35mm thick, fire doors are 45mm thick. Not a sure fire (sic) way to tell, but it gives a clue.

Leif

keithgillyon wrote: »

yhas it gone through building control for a loft conversion, because if it hasn't you can bet it's been done on the cheap & it could cost you alot of money to put right,

Yes, why would someone have a loft conversion without building control approval UNLESS they could not afford to have it done properly?

southcoastrgi

Leif wrote: »

As far as I can tell, normal doors are about 35mm thick, fire doors are 45mm thick. Not a sure fire (sic) way to tell, but it gives a clue.

i was trying to get the OP to do a basic check without making the home owner wonder what he was doing but i think he may find it odd if the OP gets his tape measure out & starts measuring the thickness of the doors

screwedagain

iamcornholio wrote: »

It's largely irrelevant what you ask the owner. He may well have paid £30k for what he thought was a proper and authorised conversion and got neither, and be non the wiser. THe onus is on you to investigate and discover

This is true, and something that I have a real problem with. People pay a builder £30k or more to do a loft conversion, not unreasonably assuming that the builder will take care of all certification that may be required for a future sale.

In my opinion it is not publicised widely enough that the onus is on the customer to make the BC application and get approval.

Anything that is likely to cause a builder headaches in terms of time and extra cost (i.e. a council BC inspector 'sticking their nose in' during the course of the works) is against his interest, so of course he isn't going to willingly make the application/get approval on the customer's behalf.

You also need BC approval for cavity wall/loft insulation (at least you do here in NI), how many of the ten-a-penny insulation door salesmen tell you that?