Loft conversion with no building regs

Attican

user1977 said:

Attican said:

I think it may be relevant for a mortgage based on the wording in mine. Viz:

8.2 All Planning Permissions or other Local Authority consents necessary for additions or

alterations (including change of use) completed to the Property (or if the Property

has been erected) within 10 years of the Date of Entry shall be exhibited before and

delivered at the Date of Entry.

That's a condition in your contract for the purchase, not a condition in your mortgage. It's up to the solicitor (and the surveyor) to work out what's necessary to satisfy the lender's requirements, you don't need to worry about anything over and above that in relation to past alterations.

Oops, wrong contract, bad me. By way of penance, here are some examples from lenders’ mortgage terms & conditions:

g) to observe and perform all the requirements and regulations of the local and other authorities in respect of the Property;

=================================================================================
2.1.4 to do whatever is required by the deeds and documents affecting the Property and to comply with all regulations of the local or any other authority including (but not limited to) planning conditions which affect the Property;

=================================================================================

• You must carry out and complete any building or repair work if:

− it is needed to keep your property in good repair; or

− it is required by any laws and regulations that apply to the mortgage, your property or the agreement.

==================================================================================

As such, it would seem worth checking any mortgage contract itself. In any case, I found it helpful talking with  councils’ building standards areas as if they are comfortable with the position then that bodes well.

user1977

Attican said:

user1977 said:

Attican said:

I think it may be relevant for a mortgage based on the wording in mine. Viz:

8.2 All Planning Permissions or other Local Authority consents necessary for additions or

alterations (including change of use) completed to the Property (or if the Property

has been erected) within 10 years of the Date of Entry shall be exhibited before and

delivered at the Date of Entry.

That's a condition in your contract for the purchase, not a condition in your mortgage. It's up to the solicitor (and the surveyor) to work out what's necessary to satisfy the lender's requirements, you don't need to worry about anything over and above that in relation to past alterations.

As such, it would seem worth checking any mortgage contract itself.

They're really talking about new work carried out by yourself, it's not a requirement that you retrospectively sort out any missing consents for previous owners' works.

Technically it does mean you'd need to resolve any enforcement action actually brought by e.g. building control, but in practice that isn't going to happen for historic works (unless they're causing an actual danger!).

martindow

Attican said:

In any case, I found it helpful talking with  councils’ building standards areas as if they are comfortable with the position then that bodes well.

Unless you do this anonymously and in general terms, I would be very cautious about approaching the LA.  If they are made aware of the situation that could scupper the possibility of getting indemnity insurance. 

lincroft1710

Kerima55 said:

My solicitor has not seemed overly concerned and has just said it should not be used as a 'habitable room'. How do I ensure I am not using it as a habitable room- simply not sleep in it?!

Even more restrictive, it should only be used for storage purposes.

diystarter7

diystarter7 said:

The solicitor is correct. However, I'd have a structural surveyor check it out as heck knows if the roof is safe.
If the lender finds out or is advised they may seek indemnity insurance which is relatively cheap i think via the solicitor.. There are other solutions I think, retrospective regs obtained by the seller.

Ask your solicitor about the above

I take time to post this as I dont think the posters have been back but others may benefit from my posts.

It is in your own interest, health and well being to get it checked out as the last thing anyone wants for it to crash on top of you if you decide to have a party up there or let children paly around in there and have heavy items up there

Personally if I bought something like that I'd only story limited stuff and if we were to use as an office, meeting place etc I'd get it checked out.

Ramouth

The most common reasons for non compliance with loft conversions are insufficient floor structure, insufficient insulation or lack of protected escape route.  Your surveyor would usually notice a serious lack of structure in the floor as it may feel springy or show as cracks on the ceiling below.  Lack of insulation is an issue in many older houses and you should be able to get an idea from the EPC.  The one to really be concerned about is escape in event of a fire.  When you convert an attic you would ideally provide an enclosed route to a final exit on the ground floor with fire doors to all rooms.  Where this hasn’t been provided it is usually safe to use the room for purposes other than a bedroom as you would be aware of a fire quickly and would have time to escape even without the protected route.

Sorry that was a bit long winded.  You should be fine as long as you a) don’t sleep up there, b) have a good smoke alarm system, and c) are able bodied enough to act quickly in the event of a fire.  It really shouldn’t be an issue with insurance etc.

user1977

Ramouth said:

You should be fine as long as you a) don’t sleep up there, b) have a good smoke alarm system, and c) are able bodied enough to act quickly in the event of a fire.  It really shouldn’t be an issue with insurance etc.

The OP's told us very little about what it comprises or how old it is - it might not be any worse than the remainder of the property, it's a bit alarmist to say you shouldn't sleep there without us knowing what (if anything) is actually "wrong" with it.

Ramouth

user1977 said:

Ramouth said:

You should be fine as long as you a) don’t sleep up there, b) have a good smoke alarm system, and c) are able bodied enough to act quickly in the event of a fire.  It really shouldn’t be an issue with insurance etc.

The OP's told us very little about what it comprises or how old it is - it might not be any worse than the remainder of the property, it's a bit alarmist to say you shouldn't sleep there without us knowing what (if anything) is actually "wrong" with it.

Perhaps you are right.  I am a cautious person.  I would assume that there was not a protected route of escape unless there was evidence otherwise.  Knowing the regs, and the reason behind them, I would also not choose to sleep above first floor level in a property built before the regs came into effect either.

user1977

Ramouth said:

user1977 said:

Ramouth said:

You should be fine as long as you a) don’t sleep up there, b) have a good smoke alarm system, and c) are able bodied enough to act quickly in the event of a fire.  It really shouldn’t be an issue with insurance etc.

The OP's told us very little about what it comprises or how old it is - it might not be any worse than the remainder of the property, it's a bit alarmist to say you shouldn't sleep there without us knowing what (if anything) is actually "wrong" with it.

Perhaps you are right.  I am a cautious person.  I would assume that there was not a protected route of escape unless there was evidence otherwise.  Knowing the regs, and the reason behind them, I would also not choose to sleep above first floor level in a property built before the regs came into effect either.

Hmm. Pretty much every residential building in my immediate neighbourhood was built pre-building regs, and contains bedrooms above first floor level...

Kerima55

Thanks everyone for the advice so far- it has been helpful.

To answer your questions- it was built pre 2015 when then current owners moved in as I can tell from previous listing that it was there when they bought it. Other than that I dont know how old it is. The house is 1960s-70s.

Survey said it didn't notice any significant problems but advised to check it meets bldg regs as standard.

It is a reasonable sized space, unsure as to height. It has a permanent staircase from the first floor landing leading into it with a door at the bottom. From recollection I think the staircase was quite narrow. Current owners are using it as a bedroom for one of their kids.

Property EPC is C.

All other works carried out on the property including extension, garage, downstairs utility and toilet all have bldg regs certificates.

I dont intend to use it as a bedroom at all and it csn be just storage. My understanding seems to be that its not an issue as long as it has not been advertised or valued as a habitable room and I dont use it as such- essentially treat it like any other loft space. I would argue that it does add valuable and accessible storage space!