loft conversion-planning

[tali122]

what are the legal consequences of building a loft consersion for storage purposes with a constructed staircase ?- would this make the property unsellable? also if the the council found out would they make you revert the property back to its exsisting condition?
thx

[buildersmate]

The very action of putting a staircase in converts the loftspace into a space that could be regarded as a 'habitable room'. In such circumstances, Building Regulations apply. Its perfectly permissable to have 'non-habitable' spaces around the house - most conservatories, of example, are regarded as non-habitable rooms for the purposes of Building Control. As a habitable space, there are minimum standards of insulation and fire-safety (amongst the various Regs) that apply. Though I would not wish you to quote me, I think it unlikely that legal consequences would follow. The Local Authority could in theory condemn the change, and issue some sort of Prohibition Notice - as they might with a dangerous building. But there are hundreds or thousands of properties up and down the land built with attic rooms that do not meet the Regs because they were built before Regs even came into existence. Would it make the property unsellable? - well, quite possibly less-sellable. Any buyer's surveyor would pick up on such a change and comment on it - that might put a buyer off, because the buyer would be asking the same questions as you are asking now. However, the fallback position would always be the remove the staircase again - so hardly a disaster.
However, what's wrong with putting up a decent (aluminium?) loft ladder - this solves the problem, fully-legally and cheaply?

[kepla]

Whether the conversion makes the property more or less sellable really depends on what the buyer wants and whether rules and regulations have been followed. Permanent staircases (and the bannisters) are one of the few internal features which are covered by building and planning regulations. In other words, if they are altered then they should be made available for inspection. As has been said, a permanent staircase will turn your loft into official 'living space' and it will be subject to further regulations - like some sort of window for ventilation. Your total 'living space' floor area will then have changed and the council might be interested in re-assessing your council tax band. All these things will have to be in order when you come to sell the property. Your best bet is to begin with contacting your local council planning offices and asking what you have to comply with. The fact that you have asked here shows that you will probably need an architect to draw out the changes properly - even if you have the necessary building skills to do the work yourself.