House has no final paperwork for loft conversion.

[AlwaysIntrigued]

We’re in the final stage of buying a house and my solicitor has just flagged up that the seller has not had the final sign off for the loft conversion which was done about 4 years ago. They had the planning permission etc but obviously never got round to getting the final paperwork.

Is this a big deal? What are the risks if I go ahead? And what could the seller do to remedy and how long will it take?

Do you mean building control sign off? If so then yes very big deal. Indemnity insurance would cover you if the council came to claim later on, but not against bad work. I’d be very sceptical on why they didn’t get sign off and would assume the worst

Yes building control sign off. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have done this either. It seems odd. I have all the guarantees but just not that.

Ask them to get it done. They should be able to get a private company in to do it.

Ask them to apply for retrospective building regs approval from the council.
It’s important in case the buildings structure
insulation
dpcs
fireproofing and escape
design
windows ( Fensa plus openings for fire )

etc don’t conform

We proceeded with indemnity insurance in the same situation but it was a complete nightmare as there were problems in the workmanship of what had been done. These couldn’t be fixed without expensive new work which we didn’t have the money for. So this meant that when we came to sell we got less than we paid.

Has it been sold with that counted as a bedroom? If so, it likely shouldn't be (potentially unsafe) and could impact the house price.

Yes it has been counted as a bedroom.

If it’s just the final sign off they need to get it done. It’ll just take a couple of weeks. If building control have never been near it I’d back out.

If it was only 4 years ago the sellers can just pay building control to come and sign it off. We did the same when we sold recently.

This is worth a read

https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/news/conveyancing/buying-a-house-with-loft-conversion-without-building-regulations-5547#:~:text=It%20is%20common%20for%20the,if%20the%20new%20loft%20collapses.

I would be pushing them to get it regularised, though

Yes, absolutely push for a Regularisation Certificate, if done four years ago it shouldn’t be a problem if done correctly.

Do not accept an indemnity for such a recent conversion. DS had to get one for the new roof he had put on a house he was selling, didn’t realise at the time he needed one and the roofer didn’t mention it. It was easy to get, he simply contacted the council, paid a fee, they visited, and signed it off.

I wouldn’t buy this house without it, it’s not like a Victorian house where the attic pre-dates building regulations.

This is incorrect. Only local authority building control can regularise unauthorised work, not private companies.

I wouldn’t buy if done a recently as four years ago as there is no good reason why they can’t contact the company and ask for the building regs completion certificate to be done. Have they got evidence (that you have seen) of interim visits during the conversion? Did a reputable company complete the conversion?

Definitely a very big deal but if the loft had been done correctly the current owners should have no problem getting it signed off. On no account buy the house without it.

Some people are just bad at paperwork (glares at DH)

Thanks all. I’ve gone back through the original paperwork and apparently the origins permission was given in 2018. They had an interim inspection but never had the final sign off visit. Is this too late for a retrospective visit? I’m nervous as I really want this house and they are pushing me to move forward without it.

I think it depends on the LA. We were in a similar position with a roof replacement and we got the sign off within six weeks. Be aware that insulation requirements have changed since 2018. So that could be a problem.

No it’s not too late. Don’t buy without it. Otherwise you could have problems should you ever want to sell. It’s part of the building regulations process for a good reason.

Don't worry about them pulling out. Quicker for them to do this than put on market again and they will have the same problem

Absolutely not too late.

When we bought oue house it was the same. All the visits had been done, just never the final visit and sign off. The sellers called the council, they came out within 2 weeks suggested a few changes (luckily simple ones), the sellers made the changes asap and the council signed off a week after.

Not too late. I had an extension built and although interim visits had been done, the builders didn't do the final sign off. I contacted building control and they came out. The regs had changed regarding window openers so he wouldn't sign it off. Cost me about £100 for a window company to come out and change it. Then he did second visit and signed it off. Whole thing took less than 10 days. Building control are very responsive and visits are within days of requests.

Insist they get it inspected and then depending upon what inspection reveals, decide then what happens next. They won't even have to pay for a visit as it's covered if they have been having interim visits.

The fact they are pushing you to sign without the correct paperwork is in itself a huge red flag. They will absolutely know that no sane person would buy it without building control sign off - it’s a liability.

Are you needing a mortgage on it? Would the bank agree to lend if it was, say, a 2-bed house rather than a 3-bed house? This sort of thing impacts value majorly and as others have said, there can also be serious safety and workmanship issues.

Do get it signed off especially if they are counting it as a bedroom. You would be paying less for 1 less bedroom and if it doesn’t get signed off, that’s what you’ll officially have.
If it was a bonus space then wouldn’t be such an issue but it’s an official room.

It's very important they get this in place before you buy it. I wouldn't touch it without.
If you are in love with it and in a rush to complete then take a decent chunk off your offer as the room is not a legitimate bedroom AND to cover work.

It’s not too late and if it was inspected but not signed off, that is a minor issue as they can come and do the final inspection. Where it becomes slightly problematic, is where the works were not inspected at all.

Only the regs in place at the time apply, so the fact they have changed in the meantime is immaterial.

It’s not too late for building control to sign off
If you have the details on that paperwork of the original company
whether private or council
then the owners need to get them back for the final sign off

The original building control will have notes on all of their inspections so, assuming they did inspect, it won’t involve opening up or new calculations etc

They should have done this already if nearly everything is in place. They shouldn’t be marketing it as a bedroom without.

They shouldn’t be pushing you to move forward without it. This is on them !