Planning Permission Problem

MrsT.C

I viewed a house I liked today and the sellers told me that they don't have planning permission for the FIXED staircase leading to the loft conversion. What does this mean for me as a buyer? Could my mortgage lender refuse?

Chanes

Planning permission or do you mean building regulation approval?

MrsT.C

They only said Planning Perm. They said they only have permission for a hatch and movable ladder.

Hoploz

They have probably used the wrong term. Planning permission is often not needed for loft conversions, but building regs approval is required for using the loft as living accommodation.

Building regs require certain standards for safety both in structure and fire escape routes etc so advice should be followed and a completion certificate sought.

However that is an ideal world. The sellers have been open that it does not have this. The question you now need to ask is why. Is it because they have not done the work to safe standards, or just they didn't bother getting the certificate. The former is most likely, so you would need to get a surveyor to determine whether it seems structurally sound. But they won't know what support is under the surface so you won't know for sure and will end up having to accept this or not.

Hoploz

Your lender will probably be happy with a (pointless) indemnity policy if the rooms are converted to accommodation. If it is just storage with a staircase up to it then it is nothing to worry about.

MrsT.C

Thanks for all the replies. I'm in Scotland so we don't need a surveyor. I will see the Home Report tomorrow. If there is a structural issue, it will show on there. It is a proper room, not storage and it looks great. They told me they shouldn't have put a fixed staircase in.

G_M

Hoploz wrote: »

Your lender will probably be happy with a (pointless) indemnity policy if the rooms are converted to accommodation. If it is just storage with a staircase up to it then it is nothing to worry about.

OP says it's a 'loft conversion', which implies living space.

I would not want to buy a property with such a conversion unless I knew it was safe eg

* the attic floor had been strengthened properly
* the roof support had not been weakened eg by removing supports to make room for living space
* the staircase was strong and wide enough to meet fire regulations
etc

That is why Building Regulations exist (I too suspect the seller means BRs - Planning would probobly not be required).

Indemnity Insurance might help
* get a mortgage approval
* protect against the council enforcing upgrade work or removal
but it will NOT help if there is a fire or the floor collapses

lewisa

Is it a listed building?

Did the vendor advertise this loft space as a bedroom?

System

MrsT.C wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I'm in Scotland so we don't need a surveyor. I will see the Home Report tomorrow. If there is a structural issue, it will show on there. It is a proper room, not storage and it looks great. They told me they shouldn't have put a fixed staircase in.

The home report will simply state that the surveyor has assumed all work has the correct permissions, it won't comment any further - home reports are the most basic and non committal things you will find, they most definitely do not mean you don't need a surveyor...
The work should have building control approval, you have to wonder why they didn't get it, in Scotland you should have the approval in place before works are undertaken which is different to the English system.
So either they knowingly carried out the work without the proper permissions to save a bit of time/money (therefore who knows what has actually been built and/or whether it is up to standard)
Or they were told it didn't need a building warrant by someone else which makes you wonder how switched on they are with building work.
The last point is if the loft conversion is first floor into second then the fire escape rules can be problematic with loft conversions so getting it signed off won't be possible, if you put the address details into the local authority building warrant portal you will see any permissions they applied for over the years.

martindow

Couldn't this affect the value for the house? In previous threads it has been suggested that bedrooms created by 'informal' loft conversions should be disregarded. For example, it should be priced and marketed as a two bedroom house rather than three bedroom if the third bedroom is in this loft.

Cakeguts

It is basically the case that you want to avoid paying the price of a 3 bed house when one of the bedrooms is actually just loft storage space and can't safely be used as a bedroom.