Outbuildings and conservatories
What should you do if a garage conversion has no building-regulations papers?
Treat the missing papers as a solicitor’s question and the finishes as the surveyor’s. GOV.UK explains building-regulations approval and competent-person schemes. A converted garage often needed approval for structure, moisture, electrics and escape. The survey can see damp, a low ceiling or a homemade stair. It cannot issue the approval that was never sought.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Ask the surveyor what is visible: the floor, the roof junction, whether the front has been infilled, whether ventilation exists. Ask the solicitor what the council holds. An indemnity policy insures a legal risk. It does not dry a slab or test a circuit.
Do not price “a proper conversion” from a blog and deduct it in full if all you know is that a letter is missing and the room looks dry. If the survey rates a real defect, quote that defect. There is no official conversion price on this page.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What defects did you see, as against what you could not know without papers?
- Is the floor solid and damp, or covered so you could not tell?
- Were the electrics tested? They should not have been, unless agreed.
What are the typical next steps?
- Split the solicitor’s list from the builder’s list.
- If you need the slab and the damp path understood, ask for an inspection that will look, not a policy that will not.
- Do not move in and knock the wall about until you know which bits are holding the house.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Is planning the same gap?
Not always. A conversion can need building regulations without a separate planning application, or the reverse. Ask the solicitor to check both.
Does a seller’s builder letter replace approval?
Only if the route they used is one GOV.UK recognises and the paper matches the work. The survey will not validate the letter.