No Building Regs - Attic Flat Conversion

LFowler

Hello,

I'm a first time buyer and put an offer in on a 2 bed flat a couple of months ago. 2 weeks ago I received the report from my solicitor which has unearthed the fact the flat doesn't have building regs. Originally the building I think dates back to 1895 where it would've been just one single property. Over the years it's been split into flats. The one I've put an offer on is the top attic flat, from the info the solicitor provided it looks as though the council granted lawful use so she assumes they had some evidence to prove the flat has been in use for ten years plus. The property has been sold at least twice since then.

The property seems pretty sound, the guy I'm buying it from had a survey done just over two years ago which I've had a copy of and there doesn't seem to be anything untoward, I also has a carpenter friend over to check it out and he thought it seemed to be of decent build quality - we didn't know at this stage there were no regs though.

The flat only has 1 flight of stairs up to the flat as the access is from the rear which is effectively the 1st floor apparently this is much less riskier in an event of a fire.I asked a builder friend about the regs and the fire risk was his major concern but learning there is one 1 staircase between me and the exit seemed to ease his concerns.

Am I being stupid by even entertaining the idea of buying this flat? There is an indemnity insurance in place as their was a convenance in place from 1865 which I believe prohibits alterations being made to the property without their consent.

There is also an indemnity policy on the actual flat to cover the lack of regs too.

I'm planning on staying there a couple of years then possibly renting it out but I can't imagine having it for over 5 yrs. Do you think it will be a nightmare to sell on?

I'm thinking of all options and feel I could go back to the seller and negotiate on price as this has all be told to me at the 11th hour but don't want to buy something I'm going to really struggle with later on.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

davidmcn

Have you discussed with your solicitor? Do you know when the flat was formed in the first place? If it's as old as it sounds it may predate building regulations (which would explain why there's no building regulation paperwork...).

If it's difficult to sell it'll be because people don't want that sort of property in that location, rather than anything to do with the paperwork.

diggingdude

Remember if you have questions when buying these questions will arise again when you're selling

AdrianC

diggingdude wrote: »

Remember if you have questions when buying these questions will arise again when you're selling

While this is true, all it needs is for one potential buyer to have a realistic attitude... It's already been sold at least twice, so those buyers are out there.

There's an indemnity already in place (from a previous sale?) in the massively unlikely event anybody official ever raises question marks over the lack of BR paperwork (not that they can, given the time). So it's just a question of whether it's been converted well or badly. And there's trades have been over it and said it looks good.

So what's the issue?

"Building Regs" are a flexible thing - they change all the time. If they were even applicable when it was converted, it'll have been done to the then-current version, not today's.

LFowler

AdrianC wrote: »

So what's the issue?

"Building Regs" are a flexible thing - they change all the time. If they were even applicable when it was converted, it'll have been done to the then-current version, not today's.

Thanks for your response. I guess you're right.....

I think just because it's my first time buying and I didn't expect this to come up it's just worried me that I could potentially have an issue later down the line and would be stuck with it.

I just wanted to check other people's opinions to confirm I'm not being majorly naive to think it's ok to buy somewhere that doesn't have regs, I know some people I've mentioned it to have expressed their worries but it might be because they don't know much about the subject so just assume worse case.

I was being very cocky a few weeks ago saying that I didn't really know what the fuss is about, buying isn't that stressful haha.

diggingdude

So what's the issue?

Take a look at threads which appear almost daily along similar lines..

LFowler

The other threads are normally about a loft conversion in a house becoming an extra bedroom or a extension or conservatory, rather than an whole flat.

I also don't understand how, from what I've read, if an attic is converted into an extra bedroom in a house and building regs aren't sought it can't actually be classed as a bedroom yet this flat can be sold as a 2 bed flat?

davidmcn

LFowler wrote: »

I also don't understand how, from what I've read, if an attic is converted into an extra bedroom in a house and building regs aren't sought it can't actually be classed as a bedroom yet this flat can be sold as a 2 bed flat?

"If it doesn't have building regs it isn't a bedroom" is a rather simplistic myth (if commonplace). If we're talking about an historic alteration then it is what it is, and buyers can decide for themselves whether they're happy with the headroom / insulation / fire safety etc - nobody from building control is suddenly going to knock on the door and demand that changes are made - indeed, if it's long enough in the past then legally they can no longer complain about the lack of paperwork.

If the previous people dealing with this flat have already sorted out planning and the covenant breach, but haven't bothered getting an indemnity about building regulations, then it seems likely that's because it's so old that the lack of building regulations is irrelevant.

Doozergirl

LFowler wrote: »

The other threads are normally about a loft conversion in a house becoming an extra bedroom or a extension or conservatory, rather than an whole flat.

I also don't understand how, from what I've read, if an attic is converted into an extra bedroom in a house and building regs aren't sought it can't actually be classed as a bedroom yet this flat can be sold as a 2 bed flat?

It isn't true, that's why. Taking the house your flat is in as an example, there definitely weren't any building regulations at the time, yet no one would have been asking for certificates if it were still a house.

Do you have any idea of when it was converted?

My first flat was a conversion and you could see the flat downstairs when you lifted the carpet, but it pre-dated building control by a long time. It didn't need a certificate but the quality of the conversion was also shocking.

What I'm saying is, that it's the quality that you should be concerning yourself with, rather than just the paper. If it's a good, fairly recent conversion without the certificate, it's better than an older one where there's barely been an effort.