Just what would building control do if they found out?

[ProDave]

Not my "problem" but one I am observing developing in the vicinity (no I am not giving specific details)

 

Someone bought a house with an old partly converted loft with no BR.

Since then they have taken the loft conversion to another level by fitting a velux window and pigeon staircase (it had no window and a ladder before)

They have reversed the stairs and created a tiny upstairs bathroom on the old landing space.

They have created the smallest shower room I have ever seen under the stairs.

But the big one, they have knocked down 2 internal walls, one was load bearing, and put big RSJ's in.

 

It was only when I happened to ask "how are BC going to accept that tiny bathroom as compliant" that I got the answer BC do not know.

 

There are rumblings on the grapevine that the neighbours are aware of what is going on, so I suspect it is a question of when, not if, BC will find out.

 

What do you think they will do?

 

 

[SteamyTea]

My neighbour, the slum landlord, was fitting some new windows the other day.  Noticed there was no safety tag on the scaffolding, eventhough a proper company put it up.

I think he found some windows as they don't match, and in one instance, don't even fit.

Just wonder what it means when he comes to resell?

I had to take out some indemnity insurance as the people selling could not find the FENSA certificate for the front door.

[ProDave]

Yes he would have a major problem if he decided to sell. but if he just wants to live there, what if anything will they do if they find out?

[Tennentslager]

If it’s not a flat (maybe a semi) and not a great safety risk...they have enough work dealing with the day job. Here in Glasgow they have an enforcement team but this is a city with loads of flats/tenements and commercial builds. Reckon where you are they don’t have the resources but who knows if someone calls in

[Jeremy Harris]

We bought a house in the late 1990s that had the loft converted into a large bedroom, complete with dormer window looking out over the rear garden.  The survey revealed that this was boarded out with hardboard (covered with wallpaper), that the electrics were definitely DIY and dodgy and suggested that our solicitor checked the position wrg to planning and building regs.  There was no record of either having been obtained.

 

The vendor sorted out the planning with a lawful development certificate,  we refused to accept this was a habitable room, and the vendors estate agents negotiated with their client to change the description of the house so this was no longer a bedroom, together with a price reduction.  I was planning to rewire the house, fit a new kitchen, bathroom etc, anyway, so we went ahead and bought it.  I never got around to making the loft room habitable, but this didn't matter in the end as we sold the house to an architect who was going to knock the house down and build another one on the plot...

 

I would guess that stuff like this probably only comes to light when a house gets sold most of the time.  As above, I just doubt there are the resources to go around looking to enforce breaches of building regs.  In the case of the house we bought, the uninsulated loft bedroom had been used for two children, who'd since grown up and left home, so it had been like that for well over a decade.

[Ed Davies]

Assuming the house is mortgaged, I wonder what the mortgager would think of things which might make the house a lot harder to sell.

[Triassic]

59 minutes ago, Jeremy Harris said:

The survey revealed that this was boarded out with hardboard (covered with wallpaper),

Our donor timber frame Bungalow had hardboard internal wall coverings and 1/2” fibre board wall coverings on the internal face of the exterior walls.  Apparently,  according to a now retired ex county council building surveyor, lots of these were build in the 1930s.

Edited November 19, 2019 by Triassic

[Onoff]

5 minutes ago, Triassic said:

hardboard internal wall coverings

 

My lounge is still like that. Original house was built in the 30s. It has 1" battens with hardboard on top. I had the cheapest survey done. Never picked up on it.

 

There's only two mains sockets in there and wall "swells'" where they are.

 

 

[redtop]

I have bought, done up and sold loads of houses over the last 10 years, many (in fact probably all) missing some form of BC / planning / electrical / gas approval or safety certificate.  Massively common and inevitably sorted by indemnity insurance or some other form of insurance.  We have tended do improve houses (new kitchen, decorating, new heating, etc, but nothing structural) and then sell as perfectly livable but with scope to improve / extend further; as a result the buyers don't care as there will be major work being done anyway. Mortgage coy don't care so long as you keep paying ?

[Triassic]

1 minute ago, redtop said:

Massively common and inevitably sorted by indemnity insurance or some other form of insurance

This only came about after the number of claims against surveyors went up, suggesting it was their fault that things with the house weren’t right. As a result RICS added more checks to their checklist and insurers started offering to cover the risks associated with missing certificates etc. Buyer beware! 

[redtop]

9 hours ago, Sensus said:

 

And, of course, they require you to pay even where the work is well beyond the statute of limitations linked above.

yep.  with the typical old state of the UKs housing stock non BC approved work is more common that not.  I generally don't care and use it as bargaining to knock some of the price and generally have enough knowledge to spot anything major structural, well have done so far lol