Converted cellar & removal of wall - no building regulations

[tterrab]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the long post!

My partner and I are first time buyers. Last month we have had an offer accepted on a house. We have since had the building survey done, the lender has had the valuation (valued at purchase price) and solicitor has completed all of the searches.

The vendor has owned the property since 2005. In 2010, they converted the cellar to provide a ‘living room’ ‘utility room’ and ‘toilet’. In the same year, they also opened up the kitchen/dining room. They did not get building regs sign off for this work. The vendor has provided us with a detailed specification document showing the work undertaken with the original quote from the local company (cost around £20K plus VAT). When we viewed the property, the basement looked in good condition - no damp, the toilet and electrics worked. They have offered to service the sump pump prior to us moving in and this will be documented.

When we put forward our offer, I was aware that this accommodation is effectively storage accommodation, even though it was marketed as ‘living room’ etc. A house on the street sold six months ago for a few grand less, without a converted basement. Therefore I thought our offer was reasonable.

The solicitor has now forewarned us that due to not having building regs, they’ve got to go back to the lender to see if they are happy with an indemnity policy (which the seller will pay for). I’m panicking now as i’m worried they will not be happy with a house with no building regs. The valuation undertaken by the lender’s valuer did not list the converted basement as a reception room which I suppose is a good thing.

I guess we will have to wait for a response from the lender to see if they are happy.


But what I really want to know is:

1. Is this a common issue? Were a lot of cellars converted back in 2010 without necessary building regs? Its a small terrace house so I don’t even know if it would be possible to get the necessary headroom in the stairs. I would point out that the cellar was already there so they haven’t dug it out or anything. Was the vendor completely mad to spend over 20K and not do it properly!?
2. Should I walk away? It’s clearly a sellers market at the moment, especially in this location. I’m worried that in 5 years time when I want to sell, the market won’t be as hot and potential purchasers will run a mile due to the property not being compliant. Do potential purchasers tend to walk away from this sort of thing?

Ultimately, i’m happy from a safety point of view. I’m also happy from a workmanship point of view - there was no signs of damp and it was converted 8 years ago. I’m just worried I’m paying full whack for something and won’t be able to sell it in 5 years time.


My solicitor said they can’t advise me and obviously needs to stay impartial. My surveyor has had an accident at work so unfortunately so can’t help at least this week..

Any information anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

Indemnity insurance is used for lots of issues when buying- it's a tool to make sure the Ts are crossed and the Is dotted- not to brush things under the carpet. So don't worry- let the solicitor do their stuff

It's fairly common people doing work that requires building regs and don't get it signed off. I'd ask when you say you are happy from a workmanship and safety point of view what's your background ? It's not meant to be harsh but a check , have I fallen in love with the house so much so I just want to buy it and overlook issues ? I would get another surveyor in or wait till next week.
I'm not sure 20k is that much to tank out add a sump pump and fit out 3 rooms. Take your time over this.

As important , are you happy to buy a house with no buildings reg sign off. These are not habitable rooms and should not be taken into account for valuation purposes.

Going against the tide here but I would be concerned. People are happy to overlook planning for minor things, like not consulting about changing windows or not getting permission to drive over a public path when you get a new driveway.

But not getting building regs signed off is a big no no, because it affects the fabric of the house and there's no proof the beams were put in correctly etc. Additionally the bar for building regs gets higher and higher each year. I had work done in 2012 that an electrician told me wouldn't be signed off 5 years later.

So in short, I would walk away.
(Sorry)

They did not get building regs sign off for this work

Don't buy it then.

If they'd done it properly they would have had approval.

You must assume they didn't.

Our house had no final sign off of building regs - small developer finished it about 12 years earlier, all regs complete bar final signoff, he just didn’t bother because he had buyers keen to move in. Our vendor agreed to pay for the final signoff and any works needed doing: we bought, building regs came for final inspection, one small thing needed, done and dusted, everyone happy.

However, we did know that all the stages had been completed with building regs for the property when it was a new build, it was just the final inspection. I’d be more worried about the kitchen/dining room - is that a loadbearing wall? Do you have paperwork to show exactly what was done?

Our house had an extension without building regs sign off. The only reason being that it has too many windows on an end wall close to a boundary, so they were meant to be fire rated glass instead of normal glass. Previous owners didn't want the expense. We bought with an indemnity policy in place.

Since then, as part of other renovation work, we have moved the boundary 10cm and it no longer needs to be fire rated glass, so we will get it signed off at the same time as our other work. Which has been done correctly etc, and completed about a year ago, we just haven't got round to doing the sign off. Which may be all it is, that they just never got round to it.

Thanks for your responses. I'm a valuation surveyor so I have experience of inspecting property, but i'm not a building surveyor so I am aware that I would be taking a risk.

We had a discussion about it last night and think we have two options:

1. we could ask them to speak to the building contractor and work out costs to bring it up to building regs. If this was say £10,000, we knock this off the price and undertake the work. When we come to sell, we will then have the necessary certification. Is this possible? Obviously the basement was done in 2010 so i'm aware regs have moved on a lot since then so it may be a no go. (In this situation, i'm 90% sure the estate agent will advise the vendor to just open it back up to the market).

2. we ask for a structural survey, get the electrics checked etc. This way when we come to sell the property, we can show the next buyer the building is structurally sound.

If we had a structural survey done, would they include potential costs of bringing it up to regs? I'm not sure it is possible because the stairway doesn't have the necessary headroom.

Another issue is the the basement is being used as a utility - if there was a fire from the tumblr dryer for example, would our building insurance be invalidated with no building regulations?

The building surveyors at my work (we deal with commercial property) say that they'd get a survey to make sure the building is sound and test the electrics, and pay the indemnity as we are not paying for a habitable room...

I'm also concerned that the market is buoyant at the moment and banks are keen to lend. In 5 years time if that is not the case, they may reject the potential purchasers mortgage due to not having building regs.

Thanks for your replies!

If we had a structural survey done, would they include potential costs of bringing it up to regs? I'm not sure it is possible because the stairway doesn't have the necessary headroom.

I'd walk under these circumstances; because as lovely as the house may be, it doesn't sound like it'll ever be able to comply with regs with major works involving the stairs...

You'd run the serious risk that you can't sell it in the future because people may not want a home that was modified without complying with the regs. You're fairly happy, but it's only been in place for 8 years. In five years; you'd be trying to sell a house they you didn't modify, that doesn't and can't easily meet building regs and that is now 13 years old...