building regs

[whorlicks]

hi,i bought a bungalow about 9 years ago that had loft converted to a bedroom problem is that i don't think it had building regs .the conversion was done sometime in the 1950s.did it need building regs then ?don't want to ask the building regs man if hes going to make me take it down ...any help please

 

[DAZB]

Was the issue raised when you bought the house ? If it wasn't a problem then I cannot see you having to take it down now.You could ring the Building Inspector and not give too much away but describe your " friend's " scenario and ask his advice.

 

[Topper]

hi,i bought a bungalow about 9 years ago that had loft converted to a bedroom problem is that i don't think it had building regs .the conversion was done sometime in the 1950s.did it need building regs then ?don't want to ask the building regs man if hes going to make me take it down ...any help please

You will find later when you decide to sell your home building regs will be required. Pure and simple it's a room

 

[jeds]

Building work carried out in the 50.s is not subject to Building Regulations as we know them and will not be enforced against you.

What you have here is not a Building Regs issue, it is a question of what you decribe the room as being. Let me give you an example; to be a habitable room, it must have a glass area at least 1/10th of the floor area and an openable window for rapid ventilation of at least 1/20th of the floor area.

There are many. many houses with rooms that do not comply with that requirement and never will - historic houses for example.

Building Regs are not going to bother you and if the house is your home nobody else is likely to ever bother you.

If you wanted to let the room out, or use it as a guest house, then things start to become different. The Environmental Health Department would most certainly take action to prevent you using it as a habitable room - if they ever got to know about it of course.

The next problem comes when you come to sell the house. Technically speaking, it ain't a bedroom and to describe it as such might well contravene the property misdescriptions Act.

 

[salem2000]

The next problem comes when you come to sell the house. Technically speaking, it ain't a bedroom and to describe it as such might well contravene the property misdescriptions Act.

Why is it not a Bedroom. If it was sold as such, and the legal process and survey did not find fault when the property was bought then it's a Bedroom/Study/Playroom/Den.

I would contact your local Planning Officer and talk about the matter giving ALL the facts, only then can this be resolved. They will NOT tell you to rip it all out unless, they think it is a danger to life and safety, even if it was built last week. They give you time to make your case and/or put right any work that does not conform to Regulations if required. Converting a loft space does not mean you always need Planning Permission.

At the end of the day, it benefits you and puts your legal stand in clear view and thats what counts.

 

[jeds]

I didn't say whorlicks room was not a bedroom! I said the room in my example is not a bedroom. I used an example because we do not know the details of whorlicks situation - just that there doesn't appear to be Building Regs. For all we know it may be to a perfectly acceptable standard.

However, if the conversion is non standard and in fact does not comply with current standards, then an estate agent will not describe it as a bedroom. To do so would be an offence under the Property Misdescriptions Act. It matters not that it has previously been sold as a bedroom.

As I said, Building Regs do not apply here and the local authority will not enforce against you under Building Regs so you are perfectly safe to contact Building Control and discuss it with them. How easy or difficult it will be to regularise the conversion and gain a Building Regulations Certificate obviously depends on the state of the existing.