Anyone with experience of creating a loft storage space? Planning/building regs question.

[jennyh]

Hi

We are buying a 1930s terraced house in forest hill/Sydenham borders and just want some thoughts from anyone who knows about loft extensions. The vendors extended into the loft to create a storage space, it has been boarded up and plastered and has a proper floor, to all intents and purposes it is another room with two velux style windows and an open tread staircase between the 1st and 2nd floors. It's obviously not officially a bedroom due to fire regs and lack of documentation. My question is whether there would have been any need to seek planning approval or building regs approval? It was done approx 10 years ago. It is in the borough of lewisham and I have emailed their planning portal but it seemed worth asking on here as I'm sure it's the sort of thing others may have done. I guess my thoughts are regarding safety of electrical fittings and insulation materials etc, plus putting in a staircase seems a surly significant structural alteration so surely would require someone coming to take a look and confirm you won't break your neck.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[ed_pete]

Others will know better but I would think planning permission would not have been required as there is no overall increase in the volume of the original house and no change of use. Building Reg's possibly but I wouldn't have thought so. Boarding a loft, plasterboarding the roof timbers and putting in a couple of velux's is a perfectly reasonable thing to do if you're going to use the space for storage. Any electrical works should have been carried out by a qualified electrician according the regs at the time and nowadays I think Building Reg's may be required for even relatively small electrical work but I don't think that was the case 10 years ago.

[bemusED]

hi

unless the house is in a conservation area or is listed, it's very unlikely that planning consent would have been required, though a 'certificate of lawful development' would have given you as purchaser confidence that it was legal.?

building regs consent would surely have been required at the time. the fact that it wasn't isn't a good sign and suggests that the conversion was done on the cheap so the property shouldn't be commanding a premium for this space.?

for example, you say it has a 'proper floor'. the surface you walk on may appear fine but it was probably laid onto the old ceiling joists which were never sized adequately to take the load of a habitable room up there so may well be unsafe.?

to conclude, if you intend to use it as a living space or bedroom, you really should assume a budget allowance of doing a conversion properly. this way you are able to live there in the knowledge that the house is safe and you benefit from the added value when you come to sell.?

[Jeremy]

bemusED Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> you say it has a 'proper floor'. the

> surface you walk on may appear fine but it was

> probably laid onto the old ceiling joists which

> were never sized adequately to take the load of a

> habitable room up there so may well be unsafe.?

This was also my thoughts. It may be suitable for light use, but probably not any substantial furniture, etc.

I agree that planning permission wouldn't have been necessary. If there's no building regs certificate, perhaps you could ask for an inspection to be done? Then you could even ask the vendor to cover the costs of any work needed.

[jennyh]

Thanks! We aren't planning on using it as a bedroom for the time being but will prob do the proper conversion in future for which we are happy to pay all the costs. It's not being sold as a bedroom so they aren't pretending its something it isn't...just that they did it without anyone checking it over. If that is legally fine then I'm not concerned but if we are buying somewhere that hasn't got the necessary paperwork then obviously far from ideal!

Thanks!

[Ruffler]

I doubt an open tread staircase between 1st and 2nd floors would pass building regs as it would be a fire risk. You may have to have that replaced for a more standard 'boxed in' design when you do the full conversion.

[jennyh]

Yep, it's really not great for us as we have a toddler so will be out of bounds until its replaced!