House with no Building regs for loft

Doozergirl

milkyj0 said:

Mickey666 said:

I don't really get this 'bedroom' thing.  As Slithery posted, if it's got a bed in it it's a bedroom. 

In the UK we tend to think of any room not on the ground floor as a bedroom (except bathrooms obviously) - so how does anyone decide how many bedrooms are in a bungalow?  or are houses only allowed two reception rooms and anything else must be a bedroom.  It's mad.  I much prefer the USA system of just working with square footage and number of rooms.

My previous house had three bedrooms . . . er, except for the one being used as a study . . . , oh, and the one being used as a dressing room . . . . and the extra room in the converted attic being used as a hobby room and couldn't even be mentioned by the EA when I sold it because the conversion had no building regs.

Besides, who cares how something is described?  Potential buyers will see exactly what's what when they view the property and will see that the study could be used a double bedroom or that one of the bedrooms can barely fit a single bed, or whatever. 
At least the recent trend of including a floorplan in property details has been a big step forward

My wife is American and has a real estate license, my understanding is that the U.S is more strict concerning what can be considered a bedroom. 

Anyway we just don’t want to buy something that later down the line could be a problem. I see it as a four bed but just want it to be official. I don’t want any reductions in price etc just reassurances from the seller/solicitor.
I personally think it’s a fair enough question, it’s just that I can’t get a straight answer from them. 

Because there is no straight answer.  There is no real rule on what can and cannot be classed as a bedroom.  The idea that having a building control certificate classes it as a bedroom is flawed because, as davidmcn pointed out, most houses predate the regulations, as do many conversions.   They're simply not a problem.   

If the house is extended,  no one quibbles over whether it is a bedroom, regardless of the presence of a certificate either.  

Regs also change, so something that passed even a few years ago would fail now due to an increase of 25mm in the amount of insulation needed. 

The only test is whether the house and its rooms are *safe*.  That is done via a thorough survey, asking the specific question of the surveyor.  

If the loft is safe, it doesn't have to be perfect.  It is a room.  

teachfast

milkyj0 said:

I’ve asked my solicitor, no doubt I’ll get a response in a month or so... everything is so painfully slow.

thanks Macman for taking the time out to answer.

Standard practice