Buying home with garage with no building regs

[amandaleeds]

Hi, I'm hoping to buy a house but the garage conversion has no building regs sign off and I can't see any planning application filed. I understand I can't use it as a bedroom, but where do I stand with this? Is there a way of easily finding out what I'd need to do to get it to meet building regs?

The house was built in 2006 and owned by 1 person since. I can see they tried to sell it in 2013 and the conversion is showing on the floor plans at that point, so it must be old.

All I can see is a stud wall, plastered walls, and a couple of electric panel heaters. The survey has revealed damp in the walls, and suggested the addition of a French drain as the external floor is the same height as internal.

I don't want the hassle when trying to sell it in the future, but haven't found another suitable home, and the sale of mine is about to complete.

 

[BlueLoo]

Why can't you use it as you want?

You can sleep in the shed if you want.

You buy it as a garage. You sell it as a garage.

Don't see the issue unless you want to make it a genuine extension at which point your two issues will be solved.

 

[amandaleeds]

I agree, but I think there's a risk that whatever it is that doesn't meet building regs, might be dangerous, and even if not, the Council can mandate that I have work done to address the issues. If these work out to be too expensive, and I don't get building regs, the risk affects the value of the house when I sell it on.
Trying to work out if I'm paying a fair price for this house, given the issues...

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You are well out of the time limits by which Building Control could take any action, unless it was structural, in which case there is no time limit.

 

[amandaleeds]

Thanks, I'm assuming there's nothing structural as the size of the room seems to be the same?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Sounds reasonable.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

It's understandable being nervous about buying a house with a known issue, but if this is as bad as it gets then just dive right in and don't worry about it.

The reported damp may just be condensation due to a lack of insulation.

If the outside surface is as high as the floor then you really need to reduce the height of all of it. Often people put new surfaces on top of old ones, so they get higher over the decades. Putting a drain in is a bit of a botch really, fixing a problem that shouldn't really exist.

 

[amandaleeds]

I don't think it's possible to reduce the height of outside unfortunately and it was built this way in 2006. So the drain is probably my only option. I'm going to speak to building control and see what they say...

 

[^woody^]

The price you pay should for a house with a garage, not the price for a house with an extra room.

You will need to declare this unauthorised works on your home insurance, as there is an insurance risk with unauthorised works or works not done to confirmed standards.

You should get this specifically surveyed, and be aware of the build quality, condition and any possible future problems you are lining yourself up to. Unauthorised works are not necessarily bad or unsafe, but the condition is unknown and that is the risk.

You will be in the exact same position when you come to sell it, unless you get it regularised with building control.

 

[Notch7]

The survey has revealed damp in the walls, and suggested the addition of a French drain as the external floor is the same height as internal.

it sounds like it wasnt done properly -maybe just done by the owner or he got a jobbing builder in.

as you say its probably just the original garage which has had the walls and ceiling plastered and some doors stuck where the garage door was.

given as its a bit damp, it sounds like the walls werent built to the standards required with damp proofing / cavity etc

Did you step down into this room from the house -if so then theyve just carpeted over the original floor



If you buy the house, I suggest you get the plastered walls, floor and ceiling removed and then redo it properly, with building regs. Then you will have a lovely warm dry room (building regs might require checking structural details like floor and walls

the price needs to be lowered to reflect this -based on Woodys advice above: "The price you pay should for a house with a garage"

 

[martygturner]

There is a difference between planning...which is not required for an internal garage unless in a conservation are or listed building and building regs. Just becuase there is no planning application does not mean that it was not converted according to the regs. Lost of houses have a damp issue along garage walls because the landscaping - mostly paths above the damp proof course. Easily fixed.

 

[amandaleeds]

So what makes this most interesting is that the original planning application for the development includes elevation and floor layout drawings that show patio doors instead of a garage door, and state it as a 'family room', not a garage? So to me it seems that it hasn't been converted if it never was a garage? I have heard that the developers might have used it as a sales office (it is setup that way with an internal stud wall), so is it that they added the wall and didn't get building regs? I assume there's nothing I can do now, even if any 'conversion' work was by the developers before selling the property?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

So it sounds like the damp issue may have been built in from the start. It would make sense that it was a sales office. The over-high driveway may have been for this reason too, so people could walk in without tripping.

Who said it ever had been converted? Possibly all just a misunderstanding or wrong guess.

 

[Notch7]

So what makes this most interesting is that the original planning application for the development includes elevation and floor layout drawings that show patio doors instead of a garage door, and state it as a 'family room', not a garage? So to me it seems that it hasn't been converted if it never was a garage? I have heard that the developers might have used it as a sales office (it is setup that way with an internal stud wall), so is it that they added the wall and didn't get building regs? I assume there's nothing I can do now, even if any 'conversion' work was by the developers before selling the property?

If it had been built as a habitable room from day one it would’ve been constructed as a cavity wall.

But seeing you mention it was used as a sales office, makes sense: the developers I guess built it as a garage but fitted fully glazed doors and plastered it.

I did think the glazed portioning looked a bit odd, but as a divider for an office it makes sense

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

The penny drops, so is there a door from the house into the room?