I'm selling a semi-detached house built ~1890 on 4 floors. Ground level is at level 2 at the front and level 1 at the rear (steps go down the side of the house). The layout is as follows:
Level 1 has always been a habitable space. This picture shows the level 1 rear room used as a reception area before we purchased the house:
The window and door have been replaced (with building control approval), wood burner fitted by a hetas engineer and rewire completed by a niceic electrician. The walls have been skimmed and painted. The room now looks like this:
The buyers solicitor is saying:
From everyhting I have read I thought building control isn't needed for skimming and painting the walls? Also I can sell the house classifying this room as a bedroom as it meets the minimum size requirements and has an adequate means of escape?Our client’s survey report is clear on the point that the downstairs conversions were not done to Building Control Standards and there is no Building Regulations Completion Certificate to confirm that the works are compliant. Without the Compliant certificate to verify that the rooms in the cellar have been safely converted to habitable rooms, the bedroom and bathroom in the cellar cannot be known and viewed as such rooms. What is needed is for an expert to establish what works are needed to bring both of these rooms up to Building Regulations Standard to then ensure that once regularised by Building Control, they would be accepted. An indemnity policy for this issue will not correct the issue. We will need to report this serious point to the Mortgage Lender for the valuers comments but firstly need the expert to confirm what works are needed to bring them up to standard.
The buyer seems to be under the impression that I should have had the walls tanked and had this approved by building control.
Any advice or thoughts would be very much appreciated.