Old Garage Conversion advice needed

mysterywoman10

We are in the process of putting our house on the market. The estate agent is querying building regulations for the integral garage conversion.

It was done way back in 1994 and has a ensuite bathroom for our disabled daughter. We paid to have it done ourselves. We checked with planning and were told no permission needed and no building regulations were that I recall mentioned at the time.

It is done to a good standard has insulation etc. we did knock through from the hall and the original entry to the garage was blocked up. No problems with damp or anything like that, It has no window in the ensuite bathroom but has an extractor fan which isn't linked to the light switch but if this was a problem then a small window could be easily put into the wall.

In addition we re-mortgaged our property in 2005 and it was surveyed nothing was said about it then either or any query raised by the Mortgage company.

Is this going to be a problem selling the property? I can't seem to find when regulations came into force affecting garage conversions. Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

mysterywoman10

Sorry bumping this because I really need some advice

novo_2

Building regs would have been needed for a conversion from a garage into a habitable room. Perhaps you can get it retrospective, you'll have to give the council a call.

G_M

novo wrote: »

Building regs would have been needed for a conversion from a garage into a habitable room. Perhaps you can get it retrospective, you'll have to give the council a call.

Think carefully and take advice before doing this!

One option is to offer any buyer an indemnity insurance policy against the possibility of the council ever enforcing PP or BR against the new owner. This would cost you £100 (+/-).

HOWEVER. Once you have alerted the council to a potential issue, such an insurance policy would be invalid!

Check whether PP would have been required in 1994, by comparing the appropriate rules at the time with the specifics of your conversion.

Check whether BRs would have been required in 1994 (as above).

But do this hyperthetically rather in connection with your particular property.

pmlindyloo

G_M wrote: »

Think carefully and take advice before doing this!

One option is to offer any buyer an indemnity insurance policy against the possibility of the council ever enforcing PP or BR against the new owner. This would cost you £100 (+/-).

HOWEVER. Once you have alerted the council to a potential issue, such an insurance policy would be invalid!

Check whether PP would have been required in 1994, by comparing the appropriate rules at the time with the specifics of your conversion.

Check whether BRs would have been required in 1994 (as above).

But do this hyperthetically rather in connection with your particular property.

This is good advice.


From my reading even if you did not require planning permission you would have required Building Regulations.


You can apply for this retrospectively and if you did so you may have to 'dig up' some parts so that it can be checked. The conversion would only have had to conform to the requirements of when it was built.


However, since it was built so long ago and you have had no problems then retrospective building regulations may seem 'over the top'.


The chances of the council enforcing building regulations now are almost nil.


Unfortunately estate agents, mortgage lenders and even some solicitors have very little understanding of the rules surrounding PP and Building Regs so the question of certificates often arises.


As already said if you check with your council about PP and Building Regs during the year it was done do not give them your address- just make a general enquiry. It could be that the council may not even know the answer as it was so long ago.


If you cannot get any information in a general sense from the council then you could just answer to the question 'as far as I am aware PP and building regs were not required at the time.'


Hopefully an indemnity insurance will be acceptable and then you can leave it to the buyer to use a surveyor to check that everything building wise is OK.

Thrugelmir

mysterywoman10 wrote: »

It is done to a good standard has insulation etc.

Not the floor though.

What else is there besides a bathroom.

mysterywoman10

Thanks for the advice guys much appreciated.

The floor has a damp course membrane and concrete, skimmed etc. It was also fitted by the Local Authority with a non slip floor around 2007 so they didn't seem concerned then. There is nothing else there apart from the ensuite the rest is just a room with a large window, which is currently used as a bedroom but could be used for any room. It really isn't shoddy at all. I don't have any doubts that there is anything wrong with it. No drains were moved as we used the drains from the existing downstairs WC etc.

The real query I have is why if it was ok in 2005 when surveyed etc. and re-morgaged should it be a problem now when it has been there for over 18 years? I can't see what would be the benefit of an Indemnity really to anyone because the Council can't insist on putting it back is my understanding after all this time unless it was some kind of health hazzard? So if it's structurely sound and not some kind of risk what is the problem?

We had a new consumer board fitted a short while back which we do have a compliance certificate for and nothing was said then about the electrics or anything. The consumer board is in the room in question.

My understanding is that if you apply for Building Regs now it has to be done to the standard of when you apply not retrospecitively? Or have I got this bit wrong?

G_M

mysterywoman10 wrote: »

The real query I have is why if it was ok in 2005 when surveyed etc. and re-morgaged should it be a problem now when it has been there for over 18 years?
Different paranoid buyer. Different mortgage lender
I can't see what would be the benefit of an Indemnity really to anyone because the Council can't insist on putting it back is my understanding after all this time unless it was some kind of health hazzard?
Correct. The indemnity policy is cash in the bank for the insurance company as they will never have to pay out.
So if it's structurely sound and not some kind of risk what is the problem?
The problem is either that the buyer is scared (or poorly advised), or that his mortgage lender is demanding this.

...
My understanding is that if you apply for Building Regs now it has to be done to the standard of when you apply not retrospecitively? Or have I got this bit wrong?

I believe you are right on both counts:

1) there is zero risk of the council taking any action
2) if apply retrospectively you will have to comply with current standards

Of course, without taking out an indemnity policy ro applying retrospectively you might well lose your buyer.....

and the next buyer......

It's a f***ed up system!

pmlindyloo

G_M wrote: »

I believe you are right on both counts:

1) there is zero risk of the council taking any action
2) if apply retrospectively you will have to comply with current standards

Of course, without taking out an indemnity policy ro applying retrospectively you might well lose your buyer.....

and the next buyer......

It's a f***ed up system!

Although you said the OP was right on both counts you then said the opposite on point 2

From my reading you have to comply with the building standards which were in place when the building was done.

http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Environment/buildingcontrol/buildingregulations/retrospectivebuildingregulationsapproval.htm

mysterywoman10

Thanks again for the information. I've just look at my council's website and it doesn't give much information on Regulisation what it does say in one document about charging is that no charges are made for converting to accommodate a disabled person. We so should have got it done at the time, but times were different, stress etc. and I swear I have a letter from the Council somewhere saying it was ok but I can't find it. The upsetting thing is that we were in the position of having to do it ourselves because at the time their was mean's testing for adaptations for children, which there are not now.

At the moment we haven't got a buyer it's only just going on the market I think I need to find someone who knows what the building regs would have been back then and whether it's up to those standards.

I'm wondering if it would be easier to convert it back!! Would it matter if the concrete floor was left at the same height as the rest of the house? How many people actually put their cars in the garage?

Thrugelmir

mysterywoman10 wrote: »

At the moment we haven't got a buyer it's only just going on the market I think I need to find someone who knows what the building regs would have been back then and whether it's up to those standards.

Ask a surveyor.