We`ve converted our garage with no permission . Am really worried now and would appreciate some advice

[namechange1970]

OK pls dont judge me. well you can but i know ive done wrong and now im going to pay. However i just wondered if anyone had any knowledge and could tell me really how much troublw were in.
I found myself pregnant with dd 4 in 3 bed semi.
BIL is a builder and i paid him cash in hand to quickly convert the garage into two very small rooms for older dds. We didnt get building regs. He has done the foundations and main front wall up to building regs im sure. However the back wall houses a boiler (have Carbon monoxide monitor on at all times ) so he couldnt build the double brick and its still only single brick. Weve plug in oil filled radiators and double glazed windows now to front and back. My questions are 1) Can i rectify this in any way retrospectively. Will have new boiler before Christmas so could then pay someone to come and redo that wall as boiler wont even be in that room.Can i then apply for some sort of retrospective building regs? ") Legally could we be in big trouble if ever reported. Its now been done nearly 2 years. 3) Id like to sell and move somewhere bigger in about 2 years -how will this affect selling the house ? Is it a 3 bed with garage conversion which is illegal so no one will get a mortgage on it ?. Could i get it sorted and sell as 5 bed ?
Would appreciate any knowledgable advice if at aall possible.
TIA

1. Yes you can rectify it - lots of ways - either use the back as a 'store room' and it doesn't have to be double skin brick as it wasn't before - or double skin it.

1. You're not in any trouble - it likely falls within permitted development - have others had theirs done?

1. You can call it a four/5 bed if you bring it up to regs - but the cheapest way is to call it a four bed and change the back room to a store room I think

You can rectify it.

When we bought our house, previous owners had converted garage into a playroom. They had to take out insurance so that if we had any problems with it we could claim off them in future.

my kitchen runs out into what was the garage. Converted without pp - not needed within permitted devlopment. Previous owners no building regs. So as above previous owners took out indemnity policy to provide cover if we had any subsequent problems which we haven't. have a look at this link

www.ourproperty.co.uk/guides/converting_your_garage.html

" ^My questions are& '

" 1) Can i rectify this in any way retrospectively. Will have new boiler before Christmas so could then pay someone to come and redo that wall as boiler wont even be in that room.Can i then apply for some sort of retrospective building regs? "

Yes

" ") Legally could we be in big trouble if ever reported. Its now been done nearly 2 years. "

Yes

" 3) I`d like to sell and move somewhere bigger in about 2 years -how will this affect selling the house ? Is it a 3 bed with garage conversion which is illegal so no one will get a mortgage on it ?. Could i get it sorted and sell as 5 bed ? "

Possibly.

Contact your local council's building control department. Ask them to discuss this with you.

You will be asked to submit an application for consent and will also have to open up the construction e.g. expose foundations, roof voids, walls etc. to demonstrate to the council that the construction complies with the building regulations.

If your BIL is a competent builder then no problems, although you may have to undertake additional work, you will be granted consent.

If he is not however...

Don't you have to be able to provide a certain number of parking spaces for a 5 bed house?

Perhaps the regs vary according to area but it's worth checking

Yes people here can. Ow only convert their garage if they widen their drives.

Betty my street is full of 5 and 6 bed houses with no parking spaces except on the road (London)!

We had to prove we could fit 3.5 parking spaces in our front garden to convert our garage. To go from 3 to 5 beds.
Goodness knows what the .5 is to cover

DO NOT contact the Council. Believe me, not necessary.

Just keep schtum and then, if sand when you sell, the Buyer is concerned, then you get the indemnity insurance recommended above. If you have alerted the Council then you cannot get insurance- it is a question they ask as a pre requisite of the insurance policy.

I think if you would like to sell then you need to get the building regs approved. When we bought our last house we noticed a chimney had been taken out and the sellers had to get retrospective build regs, which didn't take that long (about six weeks) but that time could affect a chain so worth doing now.

Sorry Newgirl and Pendeen but any buyer's solicitor worth their salt would recommend an indemnity policy rather than contact the council for retrospective consent for planning or building regs.

Six weeks is a long time when you are wanting to sell or buy a house and what if they say no? You risk losing your transaction. Indemnity insurance is cheap and the norm.

I really hope the OP has not contacted the council already!

OP is not looking to sell so now would be an ideal time to contact the council. Maybe she could do a sounding call to estalish what they would permit theoretically (without saying that's what she's done . Just to estalish what kind of things she would be up against the legit way...

looking to sell immediately (in 2 years)

Well, the Council may say no to a retrospective a consent. An indemnity insurer will almost always say yes - unless you have contacted the Council to confess!

If you do it on a no names basis as Dorisinwaiting suggests then fine, if you go into too much detail you could be asking for trouble unnecessarily.

I am not condoning doing things this way. I am the opposite as I am a lawyer! But if you want the answer to the concerns about selling, not about the morality, or common sense issues re safety, then do as I suggest.

" Sorry Newgirl and Pendeen but any buyer's solicitor worth their salt would recommend an indemnity policy rather than contact the council for retrospective consent for planning or building regs. "

My point was to the OP as owner, not to a potential buyer.

There is no guarantee that the OP's BIL has carried out the work to an acceptable standard. The Building Regulations exist for a purpose - to ensure buildings are safe and habitable and protect people from inadequate or even dangerous work. If the BIL has carried out the work in accordance with the Regs then there will be no problem with retrospective consent, however if not then the sooner any defects are revealed and rectified out the better for all concerned.

Recommending "Just keep schtum " is appalling 'advice' from a solicitor (a supposed upholder of the law) and would be ducking responsibility for work which may adversely affect the occupants.

Indemnities have their place but not in this case.

And no I'm not a lawyer, I'm an architect.

Indemnity can have a place but in this case I'd get the work ok'd - anything else could risk future buyers pulling out

Solicitors do not uphold the law, the authorities do. Solicitors advise on the law, and thanks for casting aspersions on me and my advice, but let's not go there. We are on a message board so the use of just keep schtum is colloquial and not something I would write in a formal letter of advice!

Do you ring parking control and confess to parking on a red route, or jumping an amber light. In this case there is another angle which many people would not know about - the insurance.

My point was there is no going back once you tell the Council as this prevents Indemnity Insurance at a later date.

I did not condone the lack of building regs and the OP admits that was silly but it is a garage conversion for god's sake, they have not done major structural works which are likely to be unsafe from the info given, especially as it was the OP's family member that did the work!

This is a common problem seen frequently in property transactions and I stand by my advice that from what we have been told, an indemnity policy should satisfy the Buyer's (and therefore the OP's) concerns. A structural survey would also reveal any problems. If the OP is concerned the work has been done shoddily then that is a different story altogether - I did not think this was the case.

You are welcome, any solicitor condoning breaches of the law is worthy of condemnation.

As a solicitor you do not have the technical or legal knowledge to decide if the contraventions are serious or not. I do. I have seen work you would regard as " it is a garage conversion for god's sake, they have not done major structural works which are likely to be unsafe "which has caused major problems for the owners when the foundations failed and damaged neighbours property, a foul drain and a water service pipe.

I reiterate that the Building Regulations are important for safety and health (and now energy conservation) so stating " Do you ring parking control and confess to parking on a red route " is not really useful.