Buying house without loft building regs

Helen_Murray

Hi, I have a question about a house we have put an offer on and are very near to exchange date.

The property is an end terraced. It was advertised as 2 bedroom with a dressing room/office. The Estate agents clearly stated the loft room was a large double sized bed room.Before the loft conversion the property was a two bedroomed property, however they decided to loose the ' box room' put a stairs to access the attic, hence it is now being described as a study/dressing room.

We have now found out that despite some documentation for building regs plans approval and one receipt for an insepection of the loft, there is no completion certificate for the conversion. As far as I am aware it now cannot be classed as a bedroom.

Given the other box room is now only used to access the loft space, legally, is this property only a 1 bedroom? This is obviously going to cause implications when we go on to sell in the future. We have asked the buyers to apply for retrospective completion certificate, but have no idea if they will do this as it may have implications for them. The loft conversion was completed in 2000.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Helen

eddddy

Helen_Murray wrote: »

Given the other box room is now only used to access the loft space, legally, is this property only a 1 bedroom?

EAs have a legal duty to describe properties fairly...

But your question is a little bit like saying - legally is the house big or small? It's not really a legal issue, it's a matter of opinion whether it's one or two beds.

So it's a house with a loft conversion with no building regs sign-off. You should offer whatever a house like that is worth to you.

Similarly, when you come to sell, prospective buyers will offer in the same way.

Those offers might well be a bit lower than for a similar house which has building regs sign-off.

AdrianC

The paperwork is irrelevant.

What's important is whether the work was done properly or not.

Thrugelmir

Does the fact that is only one bed. Affect the valuation of the property?

lincroft1710

AdrianC wrote: »

The paperwork is irrelevant.

What's important is whether the work was done properly or not.

^^^^
This!!! A non-compliant conversion has the potential to cause serious problems

lwhiteman88

The fact that they had an initial inspection carried out but no completion certificate is TBH a quite clear indication that it is not a compliant conversion. They likely went ahead with the works and when Building Control gave them the conditions to reach completion they have decided not to do it. Obviously there may be a chance that the build is fully compliant but I can not see a scenario where they would pay the building control fees and not obtain the completion certificate. (They would have already paid the Building Control fees for the first inspection).

I can't really comment on the legalities of how many bedrooms etc but what can say is the likely reason why this might not be compliant would be the fire regulations as doors off the stairwell would need to be fire rated and fire alarms extended. These are the common reason why lofts fail but there could also be a whole list of items including structural calculations etc. I would try and see if the seller would be willing to be candid with you and tell you why they did not get the certificate. They will unlikely go down the regularisation route is it would fail for the same reasons they did not get the certificate before.

Helen_Murray

The current owners did not get the loft conversion. The previous owners did. I have spoken to my solicitor today and they told me the loft room can be sold as a bedroom?

They told me it's not unusual for a loft conversion that was completed in 2000 to not have a completion certificate, as at the time they weren't routinely sent out? I'm not entirely sure what to believe.

Our lender has been contacted telling them about the lack of a completion certificate to see if this will affect the valuation of the property.

The solicitor basically advised if the loft conversion has been up for 17 years and no issues were highlighted in the homebuyers report, that it's not a massive issue. They think as a first time buyer I am over reacting, but I am obviously cautious as buying a house is a big commitment and I don't want to loose out on potentially 1000s!

I wondered if it may be sensible to have a builder who does loft conversions to come out and give me a feel as to what possibly needs to be changed to meet current building regs. I don't want to have building control out until I'm sure it's not going to cost 1000s to put right.

All very messy! Thanks for your input so far.

Helen ��

AdrianC

Building control cannot enforce lack of sign-off from getting on for twenty years ago.
It's entirely likely that, even if it had been signed off at the time, it would not meet current standards - because the standards have changed. Besides, sign-off needs the inspector to verify details that are simply not visible once work is completed - that's why they need to visit during construction. So to get sign-off retrospectively, invasive inspections will need to be performed, and upgrades almost certainly made.

The relevant question is whether it wasn't signed off because it simply wasn't signed off, or because the work was not up to scratch.

Hoploz

The 'legal' thing here is that with no completion certificate, your lender may request an indemnity policy in order to proceed. This will cost a relatively small amount and either you or your seller can foot the bill for this.

Yourself, you need to be satisfied whether the loft is structurally sound. It sounds like you have had a survey and no issues were brought up. There has been time for cracks to show by now so it probably isn't going anywhere fast. There are other issues inspected by building control, such as fire safety and ventilation. These will be up to you to take a view on.

Many conversions have been done in years gone by, with or without certificates, which do not conform to today's standards, or indeed those in place in 2000.

My loft was converted in 1983 and I'm currently having alterations done to it. The building inspector was horrified when he saw a beam holding up my roof .... Yet it had met standards at the time it was done! He couldn't see how it was supported - but it hasn't moved in 30 years!

Chances are the one you're looking at is fine, as nothing major as been picked up by the surveyor. Ultimately it's your choice whether or not to proceed with buying the house. The seller won't change anything now.

kinger101

This problem has come up previously. The person withdrew from the sale and made a formal complaint against the agent. They got all their costs reimbursed.

The OFT (now defunct) did product some guidance on this, indicating agents should make efforts to find out whether loft rooms comply with building regulations before calling them bedrooms. It seems to be here as well in a revised form.

http://www.propertymark.co.uk/media/1043356/ntseat-guidance-on-property-sales.pdf

Perhaps you could check the rules of the ombudsman scheme to which your EA belongs before making a compliant ....find out if they issue any guidance. It's the next step in the complaints procedure.

One things for sure, you're unlikely to be able to market it as a bedroom in the future. Most decent agents wouldn't risk it. Unless you think the property is still good value minus the bedroom, I'd walk away from this.

squirrelchops

Your solicitor should be advising indemnity insurance - that is what normally happens when you buy something without the proper regs.

There is a building reg approval and a receipt for inspection so phone the council and see what they have on record.

That deals with the building regs side of things.

Regarding how it was marketed that is a matter for argument with the EA as others have said

This thread talks about indemnity insurance:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5671827