Buying a house with a loft conversion ?

Hi,

Many UK houses have had loft conversions done these days, but seems quiet a few have not bothered to get Building Regs approval etc, let alone properly signed off plans.

When they come up for sale you see pics of the loft converion usually done out as a bedroom, complete with bed and all the usual furniture.

So when buying such a property, who should be declaring or finding out if the conversion has been done properly ?
Does the seller have to declare it , seemingly not ?
The Estate Agents ?
The Valuer ?
The Buyers solicitor ?
The Buyers themselves ?

If a property is purchased thats not had the loft converion approved, will the new owners be liable for any consequences if there are problems with it or building control step in and condem it or demand major reworks ?

Its not for us, but some of the younger ones have questioned this point ?

 

Some vendors get around failure to comply with Building Regs for a bedroom, by describing it's use a 'playroom', 'study', etc.

 

I agree with JWK, these are the kind of issues you employ solicitors for at vast expense! It is however, perhaps a matter of asking the right questions. A solicitor should advise their client to look out for any structural alterations and then ask the vendor’s solicitor when they were done and if all permissions were granted.
We bought a house which needed retrospective planning permission for various things the previous owners had not bothered to get, which we spotted! A portion of the purchase monies were kept in a holding bank account post completion, until the permissions were granted and then the monies were released to the seller. By doing this it avoided the possibility of having to sue and there being no money easily available if judgement was granted in our favour for out of pocket expenses involved etc.
I also agree with Scrungee and have sold a property where we converted the attic space into a bedroom. It was going to be extremely difficult and costly to alter the skylights into big enough windows to comply with regulations so just described the room as a playroom. The buyers were quite happy with this as were their solicitors as we were not trying to “pull the wool”. It was then their choice whether to do the necessary alteration and possibly increase the property’s value or just keep things the same.
It is important tho to ask the right questions. If you don’t, then certainly in Scotland, you are not obliged to be forthcoming with potential issues like flooding unless specifically asked.

 

Thank you all, really answered the question there, will pass it on to the young ones who will be a lot better informed in their house hunting.

Think @hailbopp comment about holding back some monies could be a big help if they really want a particular property that has had such works done.

 

We were lucky to even find a house at a reasonable rate, so we didn't ask too much about regulations.
The attic was converted into two bedrooms, but no heating was installed, so I am currently in the process of completely disassembling and rebuilding whatever they did back in the 70s.

Sometimes "don't ask, don't tell" is a valuable approach, especially if the previous owner is dead and we can always claim "we bought it that way"

Surely it is not the best approach, but some cities have a sort of grandfather rule that makes something legal after several decades. Just tell your insurance how many rooms you actually have and use.