URGENT - help needed with building regs! Tense situation.

A close friend is in the process of selling up and moving house and has dis covered at the last minute before completion that there is no paperwork fro m the landlord agreeing to layout changes she made. She believes the change s were submitted years ago in a letter but there is no reply. Changes consi st mainly of removing a partition wall between kitchen and living room. It' s a small one bedroom flat and you enter directly into the kitchen/diner as it is now, with the partition wall removed.

The potential purchaser wants to use the flat for subletting, and hasn't re searched this yet. He is unaware as to whether building regs for subletting require a partition wall between kitchen and living room.

Needless to say the landlord isn't replying to emails and the person who sh ould sort this out is mostly "out of the office" so we're not getting any h elp there. My friend is on the verge of completion so this situation has to be solved quickly or the whole sale could fall through. Of course she shou ld have fixed this before, and she feels guilty and highly stressed for not doing so, but this situation still needs a solution, and a solution that i s as simple and financially viable as possible.

One solution could be to put back the wall. The purchaser may agree to the sale on this basis IF it were demanded in the building regs for subletting.

So at this point we need to know ASAP what actually are the building regs f or subletting regarding a separate kitchen, entrance through a kitchen and such. Knowing where to find the regs on this would also help.

Can anyone advise or generally come up with any good ideas on this?

Reply to
Eusebius
Loading thread data ...

By subletting I presume you mean renting out a leasehold property.

The potential purchaser should really ask his own solicitor and not rely on the seller's statements (and the seller should be wary about making statements that the buyer might rely on and claim against later).

However:

*Building regs* do not apply any more than they do to a domestic dwelling.

The regulations would be in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System

formatting link

If the building classed as a HMO then additional standards apply

formatting link

Enforcement of the above is usually via the council's Environmental Health dept.

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

Hello Owain!

Thank you very much for your suggestions. You seem to have knowledge of HMO s, which leads usefully on to safety regulations even if this 1 bed flat is n't an HMO itself. If it's true that the building regs are no different for domestic and rented accommodation, that would also make things clearer.

Is the potential need for an enclosed kitchen part of fire safety regulatio ns? There are so many kitchen/diner open plan flats that this in itself mus t be permitted. The question may be how this relates to the entrance/exit r equirements of a flat.

Does anyone know this, or can help with any other aspects of this thorny pr oblem?

Reply to
Eusebius

MOs, which leads usefully on to safety regulations even if this 1 bed flat isn't an HMO itself. If it's true that the building regs are no different f or domestic and rented accommodation, that would also make things clearer.

ions? There are so many kitchen/diner open plan flats that this in itself m ust be permitted. The question may be how this relates to the entrance/exit requirements of a flat.

shurely the buyer (via their solicitor perhaps) should be doing all the enq uiring and deciding?

if they decide "no" then your friend will need to find out why (if not alre ady told) and take advice on what to do - Building Control would be a start .

Jim K

Reply to
Jim K

Your friend can't sell what she doesn't own, so one would have to ask what this landlord thing is all about.

If she bought the place from the landlord, and is now selling it in her own right, then the landlord surely has no further interest.

If the place belongs to a landlord, she can't sell it.

Reply to
Terry Fields

It might be a leasehold property?

Reply to
Roger Mills

If there is a valid objection from the landlord, the worst that might happen is that she'll need someone to put up a suitable (stud partibion?) wall, or agree with the prospective purchaser to lower the price so they can have the work done.

It might be an idea for the OP to repost his query on uk.legal.moderated.

Reply to
Terry Fields

If there is a valid objection from the landlord, the worst that might happen is that she'll need someone to put up a suitable (stud partibion?) wall, or agree with the prospective purchaser to lower the price so they can have the work done. >>

Thanks for that, Terry. We've discussed this today and what you say looks like the way forward. We've made some draft plans for enclosing the kitchen area.

My friend owns the flat leasehold, and the landlords in question own and manage the building.

The buyer may indeed be willing to take this on if the price were lowered to reflect this. We would have to find some way of making sure, however, that the sale was final if the price were lowered and there was no bite back on any issue.

Keep the ideas coming - positive plans certainly reduce stress!

Reply to
lilly.g.evans

A word of warning....as this involves the legal process of buying/selling property, I suggest you don't do anything until you have spoken to your solicitor, hopefully early tomorrow. It is up to him to get the legal position sorted out and protect your interests. Only after that, if it becomes necessary, do you need to decide what to do about any problems. It might not be a good idea to talk to the prospective buyers about what you see as problems at this stage - again, your solicitor should advise you on this. Write out a list of questions to ask him, and ring him early tomorrow.

Reply to
Terry Fields

iscovered at the last minute before completion that there is no paperwork f rom the landlord agreeing to layout changes she made. She believes the chan ges were submitted years ago in a letter but there is no reply. Changes con sist mainly of removing a partition wall between kitchen and living room. I t's a small one bedroom flat and you enter directly into the kitchen/diner as it is now, with the partition wall removed.

researched this yet. He is unaware as to whether building regs for subletti ng require a partition wall between kitchen and living room.

should sort this out is mostly "out of the office" so we're not getting any help there. My friend is on the verge of completion so this situation has to be solved quickly or the whole sale could fall through. Of course she sh ould have fixed this before, and she feels guilty and highly stressed for n ot doing so, but this situation still needs a solution, and a solution that is as simple and financially viable as possible.

e sale on this basis IF it were demanded in the building regs for sublettin g.

for subletting regarding a separate kitchen, entrance through a kitchen an d such. Knowing where to find the regs on this would also help.

If she is afraid of what the landlord will say when she leaves the landlord has left it too late to affect anything. What is the problem?

You haven't doen anything to clarify the situation in any of the replies ma de.

The best thing you can do is FO and leave well enough, alone. And so should everyone else on here who might consider offering advice.

Reply to
Weatherlawyer

Helo Terry,

Sounds like you have an interest in the law. Yes, we've laid all this out i n a letter to the solicitor which was sent off today. A lot will depend thi s week on meetings with people, and most important the landlords.

That's a good point made about the stud wall. It's a pretty simple job. We' ve made some draft plans. I'll see if I can get a definite statement from a surveyor or architect tomorrow as to whether the kitchen area needs to be enclosed. That needs to be established for a start.

Thank you very much for all your help so far.

Reply to
Eusebius

I haven't seen anything so far to suggest why you think you have a problem.

I assume you didn't suddenly leap to your feet and start speaking in tongues about building regulations and sub-letting.

Has somebody told you that you may have a problem?

If so, who and under what circumstances?

Has the purchaser, perhaps, been winding you up to try and get a reduction in price?

Cheers

Dave R

Reply to
David.WE.Roberts

iscovered at the last minute before completion that there is no paperwork f rom the landlord agreeing to layout changes she made. She believes the chan ges were submitted years ago in a letter but there is no reply. Changes con sist mainly of removing a partition wall between kitchen and living room. I t's a small one bedroom flat and you enter directly into the kitchen/diner as it is now, with the partition wall removed.

researched this yet. He is unaware as to whether building regs for subletti ng require a partition wall between kitchen and living room.

should sort this out is mostly "out of the office" so we're not getting any help there. My friend is on the verge of completion so this situation has to be solved quickly or the whole sale could fall through. Of course she sh ould have fixed this before, and she feels guilty and highly stressed for n ot doing so, but this situation still needs a solution, and a solution that is as simple and financially viable as possible.

e sale on this basis IF it were demanded in the building regs for sublettin g.

for subletting regarding a separate kitchen, entrance through a kitchen an d such. Knowing where to find the regs on this would also help.

What the buyer does after the sale is of no concern. A typical stud wall is only £100ish in materials, 2-4 days work. The concern for the buyer is t hat in some cases they could be made to rebuild the wall, but its very unli kely and cheap anyway. A classic case of a buyer getting things all out of proportion.

I'd simply be upfront about lack of official involvement and leave it at th at. That way nothing's being misrepresented. And perhaps point out a new wa ll is cheap and quick.

Old houses seldom meet BR. Its of no concern.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.