Garage converted into a room without building regulations approval

The garage was converted into a room without building regulations approval

The gap is between two different things, and it is worth being precise about which one you are being offered. Building regulations approval would have confirmed that the conversion is structurally sound, insulated, ventilated, fire-safe and correctly wired. An indemnity policy confirms none of that: it pays out if the council takes enforcement action. A seller offering the policy is offering to cover the legal risk, not the building.

From the e-ROT archive

This scenario is drawn from Report on Title material dealing with this specific circumstance.

Lexsure master Report on Title paragraph: Garage Conversion · See the wording

What approval would have covered

Converting a garage into living space engages building regulations across six headings at once: structural adequacy, because garage foundations and walls are not built to carry a habitable room; fire safety and escape; ventilation and moisture; thermal insulation to floor, walls and roof; sound insulation; and electrical work, which has to be done by someone qualified to certify it.

A completion certificate is the single document that says all of that was checked. Its absence does not prove anything is wrong. It means nobody independent confirmed that anything is right.

Why a survey is the question to ask next

Where there is no certificate, the only way to find out about the building is to have someone look at it. A full structural survey is the standard answer, and on a garage conversion it is looking at specific things — whether the foundations were assessed, whether the floor was brought up and insulated, how the new wall and opening were formed, and how the room is ventilated.

This is also the point at which the two problems separate. A survey can tell you the conversion is sound and the certificate is still missing; it can also tell you the conversion is poor and no policy will fix that.

What the indemnity policy is for

It is for one risk: that the local authority takes enforcement action over the breach, and you incur loss as a result. It pays the cost of dealing with that.

It does not pay to correct defects in the work, and it does not protect anyone from the consequences of the work being unsafe. Those are the words in the Lexsure precedent wording below, and they are worth reading as they stand.

Where a lender is involved, the breach and the policy are both reported to it, and whether the policy satisfies it is the lender's decision rather than the seller's.

What your lender does with this

An unapproved conversion is reported to the lender, along with whatever indemnity policy is being offered. Acceptance is not automatic and it is not uniform: lenders differ on whether a policy is enough, on whether they want a survey as well, and on how they treat work that has changed the use of part of the building.

The requirement that governs your purchase is the one in your lender's own current instructions, not the one that applied to someone else's.

The Lexsure Lender Archive holds the current and historic answers lender by lender.

Research lender requirements → Lexsure Lender Archive

Garage Conversion

Master precedent Lexsure e-ROTScope Conversion to liveable spaceWord count 138Status Current master paragraph

Without a completion Certificate the above cannot be confirmed and therefore we cannot advise you to move forward with the purchase without a full structural survey at the very least to confirm that the building is safe.

The seller has implemented a Building Regulations Indemnity Policy and this will be passed to you on completion. This is an insurance policy whereby if the Local Authority were to take action against you for breaching Building Regulations by having the Garage Conversion carried out this would cover the cost of defending enforcement action.

You must bear in mind that this Insurance policy will not cover the cost of correcting the issues with the building and certainly will not protect you or your family from injury should an accident transpire due to the Garage conversion not having been carried out safely. …

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