Remortgage & Building Regs

coldstreamalways

We recently knocked a semi into one house, (for brevity I've described the circumstances below) but are having problems with building regs saying we need to apply for change of use and should have rebuilt the external walls etc and other energy issues. We need to remortgage in 6 months time for a larger house and consolidate the two mortgages, anticipating LTV of about 50%. Will the building regs be a show stopper? Can you indemnify against it? We have a DEA on the case who is highly competent so fingers crossed it will be signed off by then.


The house was 1 x 2 bed semi with 2 acres of garden, 3 parking spaces, 2 bathrooms plus 1 x 1 up 1 down with courtyard and one parking space. Originally it had been one property but detached houses in the area are highly desirable and the smaller semi had a price ceiling due to being so small and well, weird. Had it converted into one property, now with three double bedrooms, en suite, utility, huge living room, 4 parking spaces (in SE so important) plus 2 acres of garden / orchard / woodland.
The conversion only really comprised of removing one internal load bearing wall and making a doorway plus stud wall. It's in a conservation area so no changes were made externally etc. It's hard to see how we should have replaced the walls to improve energy consumption when replacing the walls would have taken so much energy.

What's extra frustrating is that we spoke to building regs all the way through the process (didn't use an architect) and they never once raised the issue prior to the work :mad:

wolfplayer

Sounds like a total nightmare, hey-ho.

Thrugelmir

Did you obtain your existing lender(s) permission to undertake the conversion?

What's extra frustrating is that we spoke to building regs all the way through the process (didn't use an architect) and they never once raised the issue prior to the work

Not their role to do so. Was up to you.

teneighty

Knocking 2 houses into 1 is not a material change of use under Building Regulations.

What has happened is probably a material alteration so things like structural alterations or alterations to bathrooms, kitchen, drainage etc. Compliance with Building Regulations only applies to those alterations so you would not have needed to rebuild the external walls.

What might have happened is work to a "thermal element" so if you are undertaking substantial work to the external walls the rules say you should upgrade the walls to current insulation standards but this is limited so you would be expected to apply insulation to the existing walls if it was cost effective, never rebuild the walls completely.