old loft conversion

[housesale help]

hi there wonder if any one could help me...... my house was built in 1870 and at some point there was a loft conversion done, i am now currently selling my house and my soilciotr has asked for the planning/building regulations, i have none of this information and have contacted the council and they have no information either. for some reason my soilictor seems to think that i have done the conversion and wants me to contact the council and pay £450.00 to get the necessary forms. when i brought the house the solicitor that i used just presumed that the work was carried out b4 1948. i have no way of proving that i didnt put the conversion in. all i did was up date the room changed the window and put in an en-suite. can anyone offer advice??

[AndiePricie]

Hi

If you have put an en-suite into the existing loft room and changed the window you should have applied for Building Regulations.
However you can now apply to the Council for a Regularisation Application for this work (around £125). They will visit to check that the drainage complies, there is adequate ventilation (mechanical) in the en-suite and that the window is fitted correctly and has low e glass.

If you get a completion certificate for this work it should be good enough for your buyer's Solicitor (by virtue that the council did not require any further works to be done to the existing loft before issuing the cert. for the en-suite works)

Telephone your area Building Control Surveyor they are usually very helpful. They will not take action after two years of any illegal building work anyway.

[Jeffx]

Similar to the original, I have just bought a house with a very old loft conversion, though it has had planning permission documented.
I want to update with a newer staircase, bathroom, and change the front windows.

But all the builders I ask declare it has to be ripped out and started from scratch because the old extension doesn't comply with new regulations.
I'm suspecting this is a bit of a con to get me to lay out for a big job.

It is just the changes that need to meet latest regs is n't it?
Otherwise wouldn't we have to rip down every house older than about 5 years and start from scratch again.

[Edpaterson]

Hi

I too have an old loft conversion in my house which was built in the 1880's. Estimated date of construction of the loft is the 1920's. However, when I recently investigated my options for updating the staircase I was told by Building Control that if I updated the staircase everything else in the loft would need to be updated to meet current regulations. This put me off so I now continue to use a staircase which is not ideal and is probably dangerous. I suspect that when I come to sell my house I shall not be able to claim that the loft is a bona fide bedroom.

Frankly, I think the whole thing is crazy but it would seem that your builder is right!

Cheers

Ed Paterson