Buying a home with extensive historic modifications but no building regs approval

lordoftheeggs

Hi All, 
First time buyer, with an offer accepted on a 3 bed terrace (+ loft conversion) in central Brighton for £450k. We love the property but it has had extensive historic modifications, none of which have building regs. They include: a lower-ground floor kitchen and office extension; a ground floor bathroom; a shower with the door opening directly onto the hallway; the removal of a wall in the ground floor reception rooms to create a single room; and a loft conversion with a steep spiral staircase (but which is not included as a habitable room, but a storage space). 

Most of these works have been carried out over 15 years ago (we've seen floorplans / pictures from the previous sale on rightmove) but none have building regs approval. Some clearly wouldn't meet contemporary building regs e.g. the shower. We have had a homebuyers survey (but not a structural survey) which has not highlighted any major issues with the work that has been done, and the house looks immaculate. 

As it is our first purchase we are nervous - not about the risk of enforcement given the time elapsed, but whether this will be an issue for future buyers which will impact resale. We are also worried about our ability to rent the property out, as we are likely to be out of the country for periods. 

My questions:
-are we right to be worried about the impact on value / future sales or is this routine?
-will this impact our ability to rent the property out through reputable estate agents? 
-would a structural survey that says 'the work is structurally sound' be of value to future sellers - would this effectively resolve the issue? how useful will indemnity be?
-should we reduce our offer to factor these issues in? 

Thanks so much in advance! 

davidmcn

lordoftheeggs said:

are we right to be worried about the impact on value / future sales or is this routine?
-will this impact our ability to rent the property out through reputable estate agents? 
-would a structural survey that says 'the work is structurally sound' be of value to future sellers - would this effectively resolve the issue? how useful will indemnity be?
-should we reduce our offer to factor these issues in? 

If all the works are out of time for enforcement then indemnity insurance is pointless. So you deal with the alterations on their merits (e.g. would a steep spiral staircase put you, or other people, off). I don't see it mattering for letting purposes.

Buyers will probably ask the same questions as you are, but by then the works will be even more historic than they are now. You can show them your structural survey if you want, though the fact that there are no obvious problems 15+ years later is evidence enough in itself. Buyers can't rely on your structural survey though (i.e. sue your surveyor if they got things wrong).

pbhb

I have just put an offer in on a property with a similar situation. Loft conversion with no building regs certificate. My concern was on the resale, but if I worried about everything that could put someone off a property, I would never buy a thing. If you are happy to proceed, there will be others who would also be happy to move forward with it too:

I spoke to someone today who used to work in conveyancing and said this is a common problem. People get work done and received an A4 paper size certificate which is easily lost!

lordoftheeggs

Thanks both. The consensus I’m hearing is that, given the works were carried out 15+ years ago, and there are no obvious issues with them, then we shouldn’t be too concerned. A structural survey would nonetheless be a good idea.

are there any other questions we should be asking of the vendors / things we should be looking out for to avoid getting stung here? 

Thanks!

davidmcn

lordoftheeggs said:

A structural survey would nonetheless be a good idea.

I think it would be of limited value if the "normal" surveyor hasn't spotted any problems to investigate further. If they want to verify e.g. that there has been a steel beam installed where they might hope one would have been, they probably can't do that without getting permission to make holes in the plasterboard or whatever is concealing it.

Mickey666

There are plenty of 'period properties' that were built before building regulations and structural analysis even existed.  I have one that's over 450 years old and it has many 'features' that would not comply with modern building regs.  The fact that it is still standing and is in sound structural condition is proof enough that it requires no building regs certificate.  That's not to say that all old properties were better built than modern ones, more that the poorly built once have all fallen down so only the well-built ones survive.

Unfortunately, society has 'advanced' so much nowadays that almost everything we do or have done needs to have an associated piece of paper certifying that it has been done properly (or at least to some arbitrary standard).  For a supposedly free society, we are bound up with an awful lot of laws and regulations and there is less and less we can do for ourselves without some form of official permission.  This, together with an ever-more litigious society that is always looking for someone to blame when something goes wrong (because it's never OUR fault is it?), means that these pieces of paper are increasingly vital to our daily lives.

The plain fact is that the alterations described by the OP were done 15+ years ago and there have been no problems arising from them.  After all this time, the chances of something arising are small  to non-existent.  Yet here we are worrying about a piece of paper.  Still, the regulatory cat is out of the bag now and is never going back so we'd better all get used to this sort of thing, and more.  This forum is proof of it.