Loft conversion building regs

[Staberinde]

Hi there,

I'm buying a 3 bed Victorian mid-terrace house in London where the loft area has been converted into a bedroom with dormer.

I recently received my Building Survey report, which raised the following issues:

1) The roof ridge has been raised and covered in lead flashing, which the surveyor believes would not be permitted under BR

2) There is poor ventilation in the loft room and, he suspects, no insulation between the ceiling and the roof

These could be red herrings (I've asked my solicitor to request the relevant certification for the works completed) but the language used in the report implies the conversion might not have been the best of jobs.

Additionally:

3) The entranceway wall has been removed, which means you can walk straight into the living/dining room area which adjoins the kitchen, and walk straight up the stairs from here. The surveyor has commented that this doesn't protect the means of escape from the bedrooms in the event of a kitchen fire. He also comments that this would not meet current BR.

I'm not actually bothered by this as I intend to reinstate the wall anyway. However, in doing so I'd like to create a shelving storage space (bookcase) area under the stairs, open to the dining area. If I were to reinstate the wall...

- Would I need a BCO to approve the work?
- Would they approve it if I created storage under the stairs? (ie: the wall would not protect the stairs themselves)

I'm hopeful that the loft conversion was properly certified. However, if it's the case that certification doesn't exist...

- How old does the conversion have to be to avoid the risk that I'd be ordered to bring it up to current BR standards?
- Will the loft bedroom be covered by building insurance?
- If I merely require an indemnity, will that affect my insurance and will I also need to provide one when I come to sell the property in future?
- If there is no certification available, will I be able to legitimately market the property in future as a 3 bedroom house?

As I said, I'm hopeful the works were carried out a while ago and that they were done to BRs at the time, and certified as such. I'm just trying to anticipate the scenarios if it turns out this isn't the case.

Oh, one more thing: the boiler is situated in a former outside WC, which adjoins the kitchen but is accessed separately. It's roughly 1m x 1m x 1 storey. The survey report says it's in pretty poor condition and needs to be pulled down and rebuilt. I'm fine with that. At some point I'll extend the kitchen. But in the immediate future, can I rebuild this small outbuilding without PP and BCO?

Sorry for the deluge of questions, I'd be grateful for your views!

 

[luisdesign]

Hi there, lets see if I can grab as many answers for you as possible;

Hi there,
1) The roof ridge has been raised and covered in lead flashing, which the surveyor believes would not be permitted under BR

Raising roof ridges is something that would not normally be permitted under Planning Permission but does not normally affect building regs. So, the concern would be whether or not lead flashing is acceptable. It would have thought it should be, so perhaps the concern is actually that the lead flashing is not correctly detailed or installed and may not be adequate at stopping water ingress?

2) There is poor ventilation in the loft room and, he suspects, no insulation between the ceiling and the roof

Whether insulation exists should be easily identifiable by making a hole to see, maybe see about removing a light fitting to take a look. If the room itself is poorly ventilated this can be fixed by changing or adding a new window or vent. However, remember that this is work that you would have to do and should ideally have already been done during the work.

These could be red herrings (I've asked my solicitor to request the relevant certification for the works completed) but the language used in the report implies the conversion might not have been the best of jobs.

Your solicitor should do this as a matter of course, though in my experience few of them actually know what they are really supposed to be looking for.

Do you know when abouts the loft conversion was done?

If it was not too far in the distant past then you may be able to find some information by doing a search on the local authority planning website. It may not have needed planning (Permitted Development) but again, if not "Certificate of Lawful Development" is present then you can use this to help negotiate on price... (along with adding ventilation... and insulation).

3) The entranceway wall has been removed, which means you can walk straight into the living/dining room area which adjoins the kitchen, and walk straight up the stairs from here. The surveyor has commented that this doesn't protect the means of escape from the bedrooms in the event of a kitchen fire. He also comments that this would not meet current BR.

Correct. However, it is something that commonly occurs in buildings after main works have happened. In other words, at the time of the loft conversion the wall may have been there and the building works passed the regs. Some time later the owners removed the wall and door. It would not pass regs now and poses a fire risk.

Irrespect of whether you are looking to add a wall back, this is another bargaining chip for you to take advantage of. The owner is selling a house that does not meet fire safety standards and you can try to either get them to do the work or negotiate a reduction to cover the cost of doing this work.

However, in doing so I'd like to create a shelving storage space (bookcase) area under the stairs, open to the dining area. If I were to reinstate the wall...

- Would I need a BCO to approve the work?

Yes...
Because you are changing the layout of the building which will affect the regulations.

- Would they approve it if I created storage under the stairs? (ie: the wall would not protect the stairs themselves)

Yes.
Because you want the understairs to be open you will need to ensure that the rake is fire protected (ie; double plasterboarded). You may have some troubles is the services (ie electrical intake) is located here though.

The thing to remember with building regs is that its not normally like plannings where they either say yes or no. They will usually work with your designer / builder to work out exactly what needs to be done to ensure compliance.

- How old does the conversion have to be to avoid the risk that I'd be ordered to bring it up to current BR standards?

I'm not certain there is a restriction. Are you happy living in a building that does not meet building standards? More to the point, will you be able to get a mortgage on such a building and will any non-compliant areas be covered by insurance... for instance, if a fire was to break out on the ground floor and travel through your property - what would the insurance say seeing as a fire separating wall and door have been removed which may have helped contain the damage?

- Will the loft bedroom be covered by building insurance?

This is the million dollar (pound) question. Unfortunately you do not always find out until you need to make a claim. I think that Indemnities help cover you in this situation though.

- If I merely require an indemnity, will that affect my insurance and will I also need to provide one when I come to sell the property in future?

I can't answer this, but it may affect if you want to do any further works. Indemnities often only cover items that are not brought to the attention of the authorities... so if you make a building regs application for other works then you will have invited an authority in and thus perhaps no longer be covered for other works.

- If there is no certification available, will I be able to legitimately market the property in future as a 3 bedroom house?

This is a tricky one. You could potentially fall foul of the Misleading Marketing regulations. I'm no expert on these, but maybe this will help?

HERE

Oh, one more thing: the boiler is situated in a former outside WC, which adjoins the kitchen but is accessed separately. It's roughly 1m x 1m x 1 storey. The survey report says it's in pretty poor condition and needs to be pulled down and rebuilt. I'm fine with that. At some point I'll extend the kitchen. But in the immediate future, can I rebuild this small outbuilding without PP and BCO?

Maybe, maybe not. Its difficult to tell without seeing the things whether or not it will fall within your Permitted Development Rights (if the property even has these intact). Whether or not building control is required will depend on various factors too... It is likely that it would be because whilst technically boiler works do not require it, because the industry is self regulated, there may be other elements involved that would be covered... ie; elements of structure.


Feel free to send me a pm if you need any help with any of the above... [/url]

 

[Staberinde]

Thank you for taking the time to respond - very helpful comments!

It transpires that certificates of completion exist for all works except the loft conversion, which is still being dug out. Searching the local authority's planning portal, I found that planning permission was approved for the loft in 2001. So assuming the COC exists for the loft, it seems all I'll need to do is fit some ventilation.

Great feedback on the entranceway wall and under-stair storage. I'd assumed I'd need fireboards. That's quite reassuring.

Thank you once again for your comments - if you are a building contractor operating in London then, assuming the house actually comes through, I'd be very happy to discuss some works with you.