A friend bought a house a few years ago which came with a loft conversion which was apparently done in the early 1970's without planning permission. It was advertised as a two bedroom property with storage space in the loft when she bought the house. I'm assuming this was how they got around the building regulations. In the meantime she has put in fitted wardrobes and completely refurbished the loft room.
She now wishes to sell the property and has put it on the market as a three bedroom house. A buyer appeared very quickly and has had a survey done. The surveyor raised the question of the loft extension - did it have planning permission and building regs approval?
My friend asked the local council if planning permission was ever applied for and the answer was no. She then asked what she could do to legalise the extension. The council advised her that, as the extension was done before
1985, building regulations would not apply. However, she was told she would have to fill out a form to establish if planning permission was required for the extension - which was built 40 years ago! One of the questions on this form is - does the extension exceed 40 cubic metres or 50 cubic metres? According to my measurements, the room is only 26 cubic metres. I'm not sure if this measurement has any major significance or not. Also, there is a fixed staircase built from the first to the second floor, where the bedroom is located. In any event, this extension has lasted for 40 + years with no apparent problems.Assuming that the council decides that planning permission is/was required, what are the next steps in this procedure and what are the likely outcomes?