Sloping floor in loft conversion

vakgta2018

Hello

I'm currently renting a house which was advertised as a 3 bed and has a loft conversion.

I've noticed that the floor in the loft slopes, almost from the middle, down to the front and down to the back of the house. The slope begins directly above an internal wall on the 1st floor, with this being the highest point. There is a gap at either end of the attic of about 1 inch between the skirting board and the floor, which I think hasn't always been there but can't be sure.

The landlord has told us it's just the way it is and so my question is is this something I should be pushing him more on? We're also looking to buy the house from him in future - would this come up in a building survey?

And my other almost related question - the council has records from only 2000 of all projects with building regs. This conversion doesn't appear so was likely done before. What are the rules around this? It's still able to be advertised as a 3 bed without the regs? I though regs started before 2000 so what's the deal with conversions done before this date?

Thanks in advance - and be as patronising as you like - I know nothing!!!        

DevilDamo

Without exposing the floor joists, it’s difficult to say why there is a slope but is something that could be rectified should you wish to.

The BR’s have been around for a long long time. It may be the Council have only been able to upload records from the year 2000 and not anything prior, which isn’t uncommon. A call to them would clarify if something had BR’s. Btw, are you sure you’re talking about the BR projects being uploaded as opposed to Planning as BR applications are not usually public information? If anything, they may just have a summary of the application details but not the submitted or approved drawings like you would see with Planning.

A loft conversion would require BR’s and if they have not been obtained and passed correctly, the loft room should not be advertised as anything but storage. However, you may find estate agents don’t know all the rules and regulations, nor can they be bothered to check the relevant Planning or Building Regulation history hence advertising it as how they see it. A solicitor however should be more thorough in their approach to the situation.

Is the property a 3-bed ‘and’ a loft room or a 3-bed ‘including’ a loft room?

TELLIT01

Before considering purchase you should certainly have a full survey done with special emphasis on the loft conversion.