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Making Changes to a Room with Out of Date Building Regs
njwc
Posts: 1 Newbie
Hello Everyone!
I'm currently looking at buying a house that has a loft conversion. I know that this is usually a tricky area and I'm struggling to find an answer. The loft is listed as a bedroom and the estate agent says the original building regs paperwork is being sent to the vendor's solicitor.
However, we believe that the building regulations that it was built to are now significantly out of date. We intend to make some structural changes to the room if we do buy and we want to know, if in making these changes, does the whole room then have to match new regulations?
The room currently has one Velux window in which doesn't meet new requirements and we want to change it so that it does and possibly add a second window. By bringing this window up to date will we then be required to update the entire room?
I understand that indemnity cover is of use here, but again, is it void if we further alter the room?
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!
I'm currently looking at buying a house that has a loft conversion. I know that this is usually a tricky area and I'm struggling to find an answer. The loft is listed as a bedroom and the estate agent says the original building regs paperwork is being sent to the vendor's solicitor.
However, we believe that the building regulations that it was built to are now significantly out of date. We intend to make some structural changes to the room if we do buy and we want to know, if in making these changes, does the whole room then have to match new regulations?
The room currently has one Velux window in which doesn't meet new requirements and we want to change it so that it does and possibly add a second window. By bringing this window up to date will we then be required to update the entire room?
I understand that indemnity cover is of use here, but again, is it void if we further alter the room?
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!
0
Comments
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Not an expert opinion, but common sense dictates that any structural changes must meet current Building regs.
Other areas that are not being structurally changed would, I think, be unaffected by the changes.
However, if a Building Inspector came in to examine the current changes to assess compliance, and noticed non-compliance elsewhere, then depending on timescales etc, he may decide to enforce.
If the earlier changes were so long ago as to escape enforcement, then there should be no problem.
Building Act 1984(4)A notice under subsection (1) or (2) above (called a “section 36 notice”) shall not be given after the expiration of 12 months from the date of the completion of the work in question.0 -
OP at the moment believes it did comply with building regs when it was done, but wants to make some changes which would be under new regs. I can't see that they would make you alter what's already done if it complied at the time, e.g if you just changed the windows they wouldn't make you change the staircase etc, as it complied when built.0
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