Loft conversion - No Building Regs sign off.

Hoenir

juliedee4663 said:

eddddy said:

If the previous owner got sign off for the kitchen, but not for the loft conversion - it's very likely to be because the loft conversion didn't meet building regs standards.

Not necessarily.  We were in the process of buying a house with exactly the same issues and the reason that the loft conversion had not been signed off was because if it had the sellers would have gone into a higher band of Council Tax so they left it.

Is that what the sellers have told you?  How much do you trust them to be honest and not simply be trying to keep the sale on track. 

jimbog

juliedee4663 said:

eddddy said:

If the previous owner got sign off for the kitchen, but not for the loft conversion - it's very likely to be because the loft conversion didn't meet building regs standards.

Not necessarily.  We were in the process of buying a house with exactly the same issues and the reason that the loft conversion had not been signed off was because if it had the sellers would have gone into a higher band of Council Tax so they left it.

the seller's council band doesn't change. It would be re-assessed for the new owner. From the government website:
A property that’s increased in size may move to a higher band when it’s next purchased.

dannim12345

From the other side of things, we have a loft conversation from the 90’s which does have building control.  It needed work and rather than just fixing it on the surface we went back to the structure.  The insulation is pretty minimal and totally missing in places.  We don’t have to but we are now adding wired smoke alarms and a fire door. 

So signed off doesn’t mean its perfect but you can’t ‘call’ it a bedroom when you sell without it. 

Bigphil1474

We've just looked at a house that had a loft conversion. I'm 100% sure they can't demonstrate it is legit. No records with Building Control. Sellers reckon the builder was a great builder, and said it was all fine and didn't need anything as that and the rear extension were all covered under permitted development! It's well past the time for planning to have any say though, but I'd be happy enough if they had some documentation to show that it was converted properly. It isn't a bedroom but is a living space, with a staircase up. We'll be steering clear. Lovely house otherwise. 

silvercar

We have extensions on our house that don’t have building Reg sign off because they were done before building regs existed. In particular a balcony edge that has 3 horizontal bars only that wouldn’t meet current regs. Doesn’t mean we can’t describe it as a balcony.

Section62

Emily_Joy said:

The council cannot do anything after 20 years (the was a court ruling effectively that if the place has been used continuously for the same purpose for 20 years, even if didn't have the permission at first place, then they cannot force the owner to revert it back). The building regs might take another viewpoint, though.

The limitation on starting planning enforcement in many cases (like this one) is 4 years. Although once started there is no time limit (so a need to check there is no outstanding enforcement notice which may have been 'forgotten' about in the last 20 years)

Not sure about the case you refer to, but it sounds like it might be related a change of use of land, rather than conversion of a loft.

EssexHebridean

If making such checks, simply do it via the local authority website though as a standard public search - don’t go calling the LA to check! 

juliedee4663

Hoenir said:

juliedee4663 said:

eddddy said:

If the previous owner got sign off for the kitchen, but not for the loft conversion - it's very likely to be because the loft conversion didn't meet building regs standards.

Not necessarily.  We were in the process of buying a house with exactly the same issues and the reason that the loft conversion had not been signed off was because if it had the sellers would have gone into a higher band of Council Tax so they left it.

Is that what the sellers have told you?  How much do you trust them to be honest and not simply be trying to keep the sale on track. 

Yes, that's what the seller told us.  We didn't end up buying the house because the sale of our property fell through.