attic conversion not certified

We did have a cert from the time the conversion was actually done but the person who signed off on the cert wasnt qualified to according to the buyers surveyor. With the qualified engineers cert it was sorted and moved on quickly. I actually called and had a chat with the buyers surveyor and he confirmed he would be happy once the cert was applied. He seemed unconcerned that there was a bed there.

3 issues

Fire safety, does the "bedroom" meet all fire regulations. This may be impossible such as stairs width, low windows for escape etc.

Can it be called a bedroom due to roof height, even if fire compliant it can't be called a bedroom unless roof height and whatever else is met.

Structurally safe, were steel beams used during the conversion process, as in is there a risk of the whole roof collapsing in an extreme storm. Most engineers will not sign off without steel beams.

Typically in these the room is never advertised as a bedroom and never certified as a bedroom as it can't be. It gets certified as a store room and from a fire safety point of view no one should sleep in the room overnight.

There you go again ignoring the elephant in the "bed" room.

In the case of mortgage approval, that's for the bank and solicitors to decide. The bank may decide not to release the funds until any and all legal issues (such as unauthorised development) has been rectified. That is a categorical obstacle to a sale.

The seven year rule means planning cannot take enforcement actions against the unauthorised development, it does not mean that it has planning. It remains an unauthorised development. Therefore regardless of the seven year rule, the bank may see it as an outstanding legal issue that they want rectified before they release funds.

Whoever is buying the house is likely to have to get a surveyor's report for the bank. Any legal or building regs issues raised in that report are things the bank may decide to refuse to provide a mortgage for. Regardless of the velux, a converted attic which does not comply with building regulations is something the bank may decide not to provide a mortgage for. At the very least they're likely to request certification for the works so in the event something goes wrong, they have legal recourse against someone.

If the attic is deemed by the surveyor to constitute a habitable room (not bedroom, but a habitable room used for living purposes), then the same regulations apply including (but not limited to) fire protection of the stairs and hallways to the final exit.

No surveyor is going to risk their insurances by not saying such in their report just because the house isn't being sold as a four-bed. If a room in the attic is a habitable room (which includes playrooms, offices, and any type of room an occupant is likely to spend a reasonable amount of time in on a regular basis), it's non-compliant with regulations. People do not spend the time, money or level of detail needed to create an attic conversion with stairs and velux windows, just for storage.

Again, it will be up to the banks and solicitors to determine if they're happy to proceed with the sale or not.

Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant (and I'm not saying that to be insulting or disparaging). The banks don't give a f*ck what a person uses a room for. They will only care about securing their investment through the mortgage. In the event there's an incident in the house and the insurance company could use the converted attic and lack of certification for same as a way to not pay out, that will affect the bank.

So, if the attic has a habitable room (which going by your opening post there's an en-suite and enough space for bed(s) in the room which I'm guessing also means there's stairs up to the attic, plus the velux rooflights, and I would hope there's a sufficient level of insulation), even if the room is just filled with boxes and old Christmas decorations, a surveyor will say the attic contains a habitable room in their report, the solicitor will request certification based on the surveyor's report, and the bank is unlikely to provide a mortgage based on outstanding legal items raised by the solicitor.

My understanding - After 7 years you won't be required to undo the work. But it's still unauthorised and means it's not a clean title.

@Gumbo that's why I said the bank "might" have a problem with a dormer, but it's not a given that they would refuse a mortgage because of it. Only if they see it as a high risk to them getting their money back.