Loft conversion without completion certificate, etc?

1sttimebuyerbegentle

We are first time buyers, we have found a property that we love and all is going well so far. Today we had the survey done. The surveyor called me while at the property to ask what my main concerns were (they were primarily damp issues). After talking through that, he started asking me questions about the loft conversion and what our plans were to do with it. It was advertised as a 2 bedroom house with a large attic room.

The surveyor was unable to asses the structural integrity of the roof as there was no access to do so, but thinks that the loft conversion may not have been inspected by the council, and the relevant completion certificates, alteration of the roof, building regulation approval, have not been issued. The roof and conversion appear from the paperwork to be about 12 years old, and the surveyor says there is no sign of movement or instability up to now but that I should be cautious if there is no paperwork.

I spoke to my solicitors following this call, and they have found planning permission from 2004 for the conversion - but nothing else. She assured me that this was no reason not to go ahead and I could get indemnity from the vendor in case the conversion needed to be undone, and the lack of paperwork would not affect my buildings and contents insurance. She says it is possible that the paperwork may have been lost and once I instruct them, she will submit a request for all relevant paperwork.

Where do I stand here?

• If we were to complete and the worst were to happen, would it be covered by the buildings insurance?

• Should I demand the vendor have the loft space inspected by the council at their cost?

• Should I pay for the solicitor to start doing the searches and see what comes up?

It would be a great shame to loose this property, but it would also be a shame to keep spending money that will eat into our funds. It would of course be the biggest shame to push through regardless and end up with a house that is not fully insured/covered.

Thanks for your time, any advice much appreciated!

Cakeguts

It has been advertised as a 2 bed house with an attic room because it hasn't been converted to the standard required to call it a bedroom. It probably doesn't meet the fire regulations for a bedroom so it can't be advertised as one. It also may not have the right amount of insulation.

Do you intend to use this attic conversion for anything? How does the cost of this house with this space compare to any other 2 bed houses in the same area? Is it more expensive because is has this space in the attic?

If all the room in the attic can be used for is storage you want to make sure that you aren't paying a lot more for this house than one without this space converted.

Work out what you are thinking of using the loft room for and then see if you are paying extra for a room that cannot be used as a bedroom. This property can never be a 3 bed house it can only ever be a 2 bed house with a loft conversion and only when you have paid to bring the loft room up to the standard of a bedroom. So do you really need this extra space?

1sttimebuyerbegentle

Thanks for the reply!

We do not intend at this stage to use it as a bedroom, it would be used as a crafts room (sewing machine, cutting table, etc) and associated storage of fabrics and stuff. It has 5 dormer windows so it has a lot of natural light, so one idea is to have a small sofa in there too to enjoy the natural night in the darker months.

To be honest the main thing we treasure is the extra space, even if it can't be used as a bedroom. The price is very good for what we are getting and we need somewhere for our hobbies anyway.

The main thing that worries me is that we won't be covered if something were to happen, from what I have read this kind of cowboy-esk loft conversion is not uncommon and does not seem to affect the buildings insurance (so long as it is maintained in the normal way).

Thanks again!

Dan-Dan

1sttimebuyerbegentle wrote: »

The main thing that worries me is that we won't be covered if something were to happen, from what I have read this kind of cowboy-esk loft conversion is not uncommon and does not seem to affect the buildings insurance (so long as it is maintained in the normal way).

If it collapses about your ears the last thing you might be thinking about, if your still alive is you hope you have `cover in case something happens` will you?

Its far past any sort of enforcement period by the local council, your concern should solely be based on is it safe, and for that you will have to pay for someone to look at it for you (and have the agreement of the vendors as it will need to be intrusive to satisfy that its safe)

1sttimebuyerbegentle

Ok, thanks Dan-Dan. Of course safety and our lives are the utmost priority. What I got from the chat I had with the surveyor is that due to no signs of movement in the roof for the last 12 years - it does seem that it is very stable in it's current condition, bearing in mind that it has been roofed with concrete tiles and lies very close to the Bristol Channel - so it would have taken a beating from the winds over the last decade. He said to be wary of large amounts of extra weight on the roof "6-8 feet of snow" was the example he used.

It is good to be aware of this, and if snow does ever settle on the roof we shall take care of it rather swiftly. Also in the coming years, once we had address the immediate issues we could get the house re-roofed with something lighter.

I am currently awaiting the full report in the post, so my decision will be based on what is in there. There is still a chance that the relevant paperwork may be floating about somewhere, but it does seem unlikely. Once I have the report I shall have a chat with my mortgage lender, as he seems to be quite unbiased (although I know ultimately when it comes down to it he will want to see the mortgage go through).

bmthmark

I was in the exact same position as you. Mine was advertised as a 2 bed bungalow with a loft/attic room.
I bought it with the plan to re-do the attic room up. I was pleasantly surprised regarding the way they built the loft room.
I got a structural engineer in to check whether I needed extra support or if I had to rip up the floor. Luckily it was done correctly and was being supported correctly, so this help us a lot.
My main requirement was to ensure it passed current building regs so we had to ripped all walls out installed appropriate insulation. We also had to ensure we had correct windows installed, smoke alarm, appropriate lighting. Finally after a couple of months building control signed it off.

I was also surprised to see that the solicitor had all documentation regarding the attic conversion from 30 years ago.

Hoploz

How strange that they've gone to the trouble of getting planning permission, and the expense of installing 5 dormer windows, but not bothered to get building control approval.
(Do you mean velux windows or actually dormers?)

It could be they intended a proper conversion then a change in circumstance meant they didn't do it, or it could mean it is in fact done properly, meeting the required standards, but they never bothered getting the completion certificate for whatever reason.

Was it the current sellers who did the work? If so get the EA to do some digging by way of an informal chat with the sellers and ask them the exact situation.