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Bex123456
Posts: 10 Forumite
Hi,
I'd be grateful for some help. I wonder whether it will just come down to 'my error, should have checked' but thought it was worth an ask.
I bought a flat a year ago, a maisonette on the 1st floor and attic space (1895 building). There's one flat downstairs over the ground floor and basement.
I bought it without a mortgage (silver lining to family bereavements I guess) and had a full survey done before we bought it.
We had a conveyancing firm do all the relevant stuff and no problems came up, other than there weren't building regs for the roof which had been redone a few years ago, although there is indemnity insurance in place.
The issue is now, that we are going out of the country for some time and are planning to rent it out, so we decided to get paperwork in order and the check the EPC was still valid. On checking it, I suddenly realised that the 'C' rated EPC we had been sent by the estate agent and the conveyancers was actually for downstairs, although it was labelled with our address. I only realised as it mentions a 'flat above' which I hadn't noticed before. We got an EPC inspector round, who said that without any regs for the attic room (which we also don't have), the flat would likely be rated below an E and so we can't rent it.
It also throws up the issue of it being advertised by the estate agents as a 2 bedroom flat, when presumably without building regs for the attic bedroom (the master bedroom), it should have been a 1 bedroom?
I'm concerned now that it would be almost impossible to rectify all of this without it being massively costly, and will impact on renting/selling.
We've put so much time and money into this flat already, and have done loads of work on it.
Do I have any recourse or does it all come down to me being too naive in the first place?
Thanks very much (sorry it's long!)
I'd be grateful for some help. I wonder whether it will just come down to 'my error, should have checked' but thought it was worth an ask.
I bought a flat a year ago, a maisonette on the 1st floor and attic space (1895 building). There's one flat downstairs over the ground floor and basement.
I bought it without a mortgage (silver lining to family bereavements I guess) and had a full survey done before we bought it.
We had a conveyancing firm do all the relevant stuff and no problems came up, other than there weren't building regs for the roof which had been redone a few years ago, although there is indemnity insurance in place.
The issue is now, that we are going out of the country for some time and are planning to rent it out, so we decided to get paperwork in order and the check the EPC was still valid. On checking it, I suddenly realised that the 'C' rated EPC we had been sent by the estate agent and the conveyancers was actually for downstairs, although it was labelled with our address. I only realised as it mentions a 'flat above' which I hadn't noticed before. We got an EPC inspector round, who said that without any regs for the attic room (which we also don't have), the flat would likely be rated below an E and so we can't rent it.
It also throws up the issue of it being advertised by the estate agents as a 2 bedroom flat, when presumably without building regs for the attic bedroom (the master bedroom), it should have been a 1 bedroom?
I'm concerned now that it would be almost impossible to rectify all of this without it being massively costly, and will impact on renting/selling.
We've put so much time and money into this flat already, and have done loads of work on it.
Do I have any recourse or does it all come down to me being too naive in the first place?
Thanks very much (sorry it's long!)
0
Comments
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Are you sure there isn't a certificate for your flat? Have you checked the register?0
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I'd be more worried about the quality of work done in the attic conversion.
If BRs were ignored, what else was skipped? Were the floor joists strengthened? Is the access fire-escape compliant? etc etc
Indemnity insurance would not protect you from these hazards!
ps -when do the new minimum EPC requirements come into force for letting?0 -
We got an EPC inspector round, who said that without any regs for the attic room (which we also don't have), the flat would likely be rated below an E and so we can't rent it.
Check the EPC register https://www.epcregister.com/ - it might be on there, and you were just given the wrong one. Unless it's direct electric heating with uninsulated walls and roof, and single glazing, it's unlikely to be worse than an E - if it is, then you will need to look into improvement options to meet the MEES requirements for letting past April 2018.It also throws up the issue of it being advertised by the estate agents as a 2 bedroom flat, when presumably without building regs for the attic bedroom (the master bedroom), it should have been a 1 bedroom?
The lack of EPC doesn't change this, it is still the same now as when you bought it. Should have been something you looked into at that stage, the indemnity policy doesn't help you at all.0 -
Are you sure there isn't a certificate for your flat? Have you checked the register?
We've checked that there's definitely no EPC. The only listed certificate is for the incorrect flat (downstairs but listed under our address) and the estate agent and EPC assessor couldn't find another one...0 -
I'd be more worried about the quality of work done in the attic conversion.
If BRs were ignored, what else was skipped? Were the floor joists strengthened? Is the access fire-escape compliant? etc etc
Indemnity insurance would not protect you from these hazards!
ps -when do the new minimum EPC requirements come into force for letting?
The attic was converted in 1983 we think, thus the lack of paperwork. It was done when the house was converted into 2 flats, I think but we have limited information. The staircase etc going up is standard and there were no obvious defects according to our survey.
The fact it's been standing for 30 years+ is reassuring, but obviously it would be nice to know there's no issues.0 -
Check the EPC register - it might be on there, and you were just given the wrong one. Unless it's direct electric heating with uninsulated walls and roof, and single glazing, it's unlikely to be worse than an E - if it is, then you will need to look into improvement options to meet the MEES requirements for letting past April 2018.
The lack of EPC doesn't change this, it is still the same now as when you bought it. Should have been something you looked into at that stage, the indemnity policy doesn't help you at all.
Yes it was the EPC register that I was checking but it was listed for our flat incorrectly. The estate agent/solicitors etc don't have another one either, so doesn't seem to exist.
So the reason that the EPC inspector thought it would be less than an E was actually just because the attic has no documentation and therefore he said it would have to be treated as being in line with regulations from when the flat was built (1895) and not 1983 when it was actually done, which apparently gives it a big penalty. He said there was not much else we could actually change to gain a grade as already double glazed/gas heating with thermostat/energy saving bulbs etc.
When we bought it, we were under the impression it was an EPC C grade because of the incorrect certificate that we were given...0 -
Balmy.
Check if there's an appeal process and/or get another EPC inspector round.
Try
https://www.epcregister.com/helpDesk.html
Information
For more information about the Domestic Energy Performance Certificate Register or the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive:
Website: https://www.epcregister.com/helpDesk.html
Email: [EMAIL="theregister@landmark.co.uk"]theregister@landmark.co.uk[/EMAIL]
Telephone: 03300 366 0240 -
Balmy.
Check if there's an appeal process and/or get another EPC inspector round.
Thanks, will do.
The various EPC inspectors (including the ones who incorrectly labelled the certificate for the flat below) have so far been spectacularly unhelpful. Seems we're stuck in a ridiculous situation which isn't easy to remedy.
Really wish I'd double checked the EPC before the sale went through, but had so much other paperwork that seemed more important I didn't even consider it could be such a major problem. Live and learn I guess!0
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