Building regs and sale nightmares 😭

[HellsBellsTrudy]

Hi all, just looking for some advice and to vent.

We’re very close to exchange as all enquires etc have been satisfied, our buyer went in to sign their paperwork yesterday but came away not signing after his solicitor flagged the lack of building regulations for our loft conversion.

For context this conversion was done a long time ago, at least more than 10 years and way before we bought it, we didn’t get them from the seller when we bought as they never got them
when they bought etc, never had an issue with the mortgage lender and always able to insure the top room as a bedroom.

As part of the enquiries on our sale we’ve agreed to pay for an indemnity policy to cover for the lack of regs but our buyer has been spooked by what I can only imagine is poor communication. He hasn’t pulled out yet but is being weird and I think he’s a but overwhelmed by it all.

I’m beyond stressed, this is our third buyer and we’ve been in the process since October, we have a little girl and are dying to get out of the area we are in. This house now feels like a bloody poison chalice or whatever the saying is!

I suppose I’m asking for advice on how to best explain this is normal to our buyer, we’ve agreed an indemnity for our onward purchase as the dining room extension has no regs.

Is getting retrospective regs a nightmare? And why wasn’t this an issue when we bought?!

We had something similar with a house I sold a month ago with a loft extension done in 1975. It had planning permission, and I had a copy of it, and the local authority planning officer had been around a couple of times and my dear old dad had faithfully saved all the letters saying he was happy with the staircase, etc. No building regs because they didn't exist then. My lawyer said this came up time and again and she was happy to fight hard on the point.

I sent the buyer's lawyer all the documentation early in the sales process, but I had this same line on the buyer's survey about the loft 'not meeting building regs', which sent the buyer into a spin. We bombarded them again with all the paperwork we did have and my estate agent went around with an elderly builder, who knew the type of house and the type of extension that would have been done and he reassured the buyer. We knocked £10k off (he wanted £40k off) just to get the thing sold, which annoyed me as the survey valuation was exactly the same as the price he offered.

@LIZS yes, that as well.

Hi all, thanks for all the replies.

To clarify I only say MORE than 10 years ago as that is the minimum time as that covers us and the previous buyers being here, it could have been much longer.

The conversion is a full sized room with raised ceiling and a dormer window and full staircase, so yes it was listed as a bedroom.

I don’t actually know what his concerns are and I don’t think he does either, I think he’s just in a spin.

We had a full survey done on the house and it noted that it didn’t meet current regulations but this is obviously cos it was done a while back.

tbh I’m at the point where I’d do anything for this to just not fall through, even if that means losing money. I don’t even care anymore.

I'm sorry your buyer pulled out last minute, ours did, so I get how stressful it can be.

The conversion is a full sized room with raised ceiling and a dormer window and full staircase, so yes it was listed as a bedroom.
It can only be listed as a bedroom if it's passed the correct regs otherwise it's pretending to be one and the house is overpriced - similar to those pretend driveways that don't have a dropped kerb.

There's house in my road which has a room in the loft which has no building regs (built around 20 years ago) Every time it goes on the market - it gets marketed as a 3 bed and the room in the loft is marked as a storage room or 'hobby room'. If the room in the loft did have regs and could be used as a bedroom then the asking price would add another 20/30K.

If I was your buyer I would want it checked that it is structurally sound. This should have been pointed out to you when you bought.

Yes without br it is not a “habitable room” and should not be marketed as a bedroom. Valuations may discount it.

To be fair the house was valued at around £30k more than we’re selling it for.

I’ve had a look at the old ads for the house when it’s sold and it’s always been sold as a 3 bed as far back as 2004.

Hi all, I understand this better now! House will sell as a 2 bed, buyer has been round with a professional and got quotes for fire doors etc and we’re moving ahead (hopefully!) Thanks for all advice.

We just sold our 4 bed, we bought in 2007, loft conversion was early 2000’s. We then added an en-suite. Had no issues selling, completed Jan 2025. Our solicitor advised met regulations at the time of building which was all that was needed

Im sure in years to come the regs will be different again which would mean that current conversions might not meet future building regs but they do meet them now.