People on the top floors often think about using an attic in a multi-story building. The furnished space is usually called an attic. This requires punching a hole in the ceiling, and also considering installing a ladder or other means of entry.
Despite the fact that most citizens think that such a solution will save money, in fact, fantasies differ from reality. In addition to the cost of installing stairs and dismantling the ceiling, you will also have to spend a lot on repairing the attic space, purchasing additional furniture and much more.
In addition, the documentary side of the issue will be touched upon, and here we will talk about nervous costs.
Legal side
If it was decided to reconstruct the attic into an attic space, it is worth taking into account not only the construction and installation work. The main difficulties may arise at the initial stage, when the apartment resident is faced with the legal side.
First you need to study the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. If you read this document, you will notice the following:
- attic - a space limited by the roof, walls and ceiling;
- an attic is an attic space with a facade in the form of a roof of any shape;
- reconstruction – change or complete alteration of an object;
- the attic of a high-rise building is the property of residents living in an apartment building;
- reconstruction of the attic space is possible only with the consent of the owners of all apartments in the building;
- the final decision on the change of ownership and reconstruction of the attic must be made at a general meeting;
- the decision must be confirmed by the protocol;
- The decision of the meeting can be appealed if for some reason the rights of the owners or clauses of the Housing Code were violated.
There are two ways to attach an attic to an apartment, one of which involves full registration or privatization of the property, and the second - rent or free use, which also needs to be registered.
General or personal
If you didn’t have time to get the attic during the construction stage, the process becomes more complicated. We'll have to do some preparatory work.
Make an agreement with your neighbors
If the attic does not have an owner, it is considered the common property of the residents. Therefore, you will have to obtain permission from your neighbors to build an attic before starting work. This can be done through the Management Company or Housing Cooperative.
If there is no housing cooperative, it will have to be registered. Get ready to convene a house-wide meeting of residents. There will definitely be disagreements who will have to be persuaded. Keep in mind, it is enough to get approval from at least two-thirds of the owners. Perhaps, for permission to build an attic, you will be asked to do a good deed for the whole house. For example, renovating the entrance.
Rate the room
First you need to call an appraiser and find out whether it is technically possible to attach an attic to your apartment. In the attic there are general house communications, where utilities should have free access. If the house structures are located directly above your apartment, you can’t count on these premises.
There are other parameters that will have to be taken into account. The roof slope in the room you want to connect should be from 35 to 55 degrees. Ceilings - not lower than 2.3 m, ceilings - withstand a weight of 150 kg per square meter. If, in the opinion of the appraiser, all parameters are normal, order a technical examination with an official conclusion.
When can you legalize an attic?
There are several cases of how to legalize an attic. This is possible if:
- the attic does not belong to anyone;
- there are no communication systems in the attic that serve the house;
- the attic is in excellent condition;
- all residents of the house gave their consent to renounce ownership of this premises.
If the attic belongs to a certain person, then permission to equip the attic floor can only be obtained if the property is rented or sold by the owner.
Additionally, it is worth paying attention to the second point. If house communications or networks are concentrated in the attic, then it is unlikely to be possible to privatize the space.
ATTENTION! The only option to achieve the goal is to discuss the situation with a representative of the management company and agree with him on the relocation of communications.
But almost no one agrees to this option, since it is fraught with increased danger for people living in an apartment building.
What you need to know
In any multi-storey building there is property that belongs to all owners of apartments and premises of this building. Attics are also classified as such property. That is why many difficulties arise with the privatization of attic space, which ultimately can lead to failure.
Think over all the nuances of this enterprise and only then contact the appropriate authorities to privatize the premises. Privatization of an attic space requires a serious approach to the matter.
It is unlikely that you will be able to do without the help of professionals, so take the advice of experienced lawyers. Even if you have to spend money on their services, you will avoid additional costs in the future, and save your nerves and time.
Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.
When privatization is impossible
To avoid any unpleasant situations, the owner of an apartment bordering an attic should also take into account in which cases he cannot privatize the attic space for arranging or adding an attic floor. This is not possible if:
- the premises are being prepared for repair or reconstruction;
- the owners did not agree to sign the permit;
- the characteristics of the premises leave much to be desired;
- a person who wants to purchase a future attic is not the owner of the apartment adjacent to the attic.
Even if one of the residents of the house refuses to give his consent, privatization will also be impossible. However, if for some reason this tenant was not at the meeting, and at the meeting it was decided to transfer the attic to the ownership of the owner of the upper apartment, then the vote of the absentee will not be taken into account.
Price
Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to determine the cost of such an action, since it varies depending on the region. Also, different prices are set for obtaining technical documentation.
You can spend from one and a half to three thousand rubles on the design of an architectural plan, and another from twenty to forty thousand on the design of an attic space as a property through privatization.
Unfortunately, uniform tariffs and fees for collecting documents and the necessary fees have not been established anywhere.
Now you know how to register an attic as your property, and having correctly calculated the forces and actions, you can begin this procedure today.
Documentation
Methods for attaching an attic were mentioned earlier. Each of them requires the preparation of a certain package of documents. So, for example, if you plan to rent a future attic or use it free of charge, you need to prepare:
- written consent of the residents of the house, which was drawn up and received at the general meeting;
- a premises rental agreement, which will have to be drawn up and registered in advance;
- an act confirming the presence of changes planned for the reconstruction of the attic;
- technical documentation for the transfer of the attic from the attic.
Throughout all work on arranging the space, it is also necessary to record the changes and alterations made. If you want to buy an attic and register ownership of it, then the package of documents must include:
- consent from the residents of the apartment building received at the general meeting;
- permitting papers from the required authorities to begin reconstruction;
- documents confirming planned changes to the technical characteristics of the premises in question.
Subsequently, the owner of the attic will be able to register ownership of the future attic. It is worth noting that in this case, residents of other apartments voluntarily give up their share of the attic space and transfer it to the owner of the upper apartment.
ATTENTION! Thus, the legal side of privatization or renting an attic to convert it into an attic poses many difficulties along the way.
The owner of the upper apartment will have to carefully read all the documents relevant to this topic, as well as resort to the help of professional lawyers and advocates, which will already require the contribution of a certain capital.
Installation and repair work
After all the documentary aspects of the issue have been resolved, and the apartment owner has documents confirming the right to own the attic or part of it, you can begin to examine the property. First, you will need to check the load-bearing systems and roof structures.
It is recommended to involve specialists to conduct such examinations. Experienced builders and designers are able to assess the actual condition of the main elements of the future attic structure. Also, if possible violations or deformations are detected, it is necessary to repair or replace the structure.
Additionally, it is recommended to inspect the lower areas of the house: foundation, walls, floors. The fact is that an apartment building is not always ready to increase the load on its components. After this, you can draw up a project for the attic space. The project must take into account work on insulation, insulation and installation of various systems.
You cannot connect water, turn on heating or install sewerage yourself. Improperly performed work can lead to accidents and failure of all systems of the entire house. Therefore, it is best to hire plumbers, installers and other specialists who can help resolve this issue.
Since the house is multi-story, it is recommended to give preference to light or lightweight structures. Additionally, each purchased element must be treated with a fireproof solution.
IMPORTANT! A separate step is to install the entrance to the attic through the ceiling of the apartment. Here you need to take into account that there are other living spaces under the apartment, and the owner of the attic is responsible for their safety.
When all construction and installation work is completed, all that remains is to sign an agreement for the use of the attic. Changes that occurred during this stage must also be recorded in administrative and technical documentation.
The procedure for decorating the attic
Many lawyers strongly recommend starting the design of the attic by preparing the necessary documents for construction work and only then proceeding with the actual construction of the attic space. The result of a negligent attitude to the process of checking and collecting documentation may be a claim from the State Architecture and Construction Service and the demolition of the building.
We advise you to read:
- ✅ Redevelopment of a mortgage apartment: nuances and conditions
- ✅ How to register a garage as your property?
- ✅ What is the difference between a technical plan and a technical passport?
- ✅ How to get a technical passport for an apartment in 2019?
General procedure for decorating an attic:
- Collection of documents necessary for registration;
- Create a construction project plan. As a rule, this is done by licensed specialists;
- Filling out an application for registration of an attic space;
- Approval of the project in the relevant authorities, one of which is the architectural and construction inspection of the locality;
- Obtaining all necessary documents from the Bureau of Technical Inventory, Housing and Public Utilities and the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station.
Preparation of documents
When initially constructing an attic without permission, the building must be included in the plan. To do this, a specialist from the Bureau of Technical Inventory is called. The employee draws up a special plan and makes all changes to the technical documentation.
Documents required for registration of the attic:
- Homeowner's ID;
- Application on the standard form of the Bureau of Technical Inventory;
- Photocopy of technical passport;
- Extract from the cadastral passport;
- Documents necessary to confirm the fact that the building being considered for the attic is owned by the applicant;
- Technical documents prepared by a specialist from the Bureau of Technical Inventory who came on call and drew up a new plan.
After completing the documents required by the Bureau of Technical Inventory, you will need to contact the registration center. There, changes will be made to the existing records of existing registered properties.
Application form for design and technical work during the construction of an attic PDF 51.88 KB
Sample application for state registration of an attic WORD 20.00 KB
Project development
The popularity of attics in private homes is well deserved. Premises of this kind are economical and convenient.
The main advantage of attics is the ability to rationally use unused space. The construction project should be developed at the planning stage, because the variability in the use of attic meters depends on determining the correct type of roof.
It is possible to achieve comfortable use of an attic space if, even at the project development stage, the area under consideration meets the following conditions :
- Possibility of insulating the room and installing a heating system;
- Availability of a form and layout convenient for living;
- Good illumination of the area;
- Proper planning of the structure, which eliminates the possibility of the building collapsing due to additional load.
The attic project involves the installation of additional supports, columns, windows or walls. Making the area under the roof comfortable for living is not an easy task. The floor for redevelopment can have a wide variety of shapes: symmetrical, broken, triangular, and so on.
There are certain rules for drawing up and developing projects that it is advisable to follow. For example, a narrow small attic is more suitable for a bedroom. It makes more sense to use a high room for a living room. In the areas where the inclined slopes meet the ceiling, it is convenient to place shelving, wardrobes and other pieces of furniture.
Important requirements when planning the attic area that will be used for the bedroom :
- The distance from floor to ceiling must be at least 2.2 meters;
- The distance from the bed level must be at least 1.4 meters.
Compliance with such regulatory requirements is necessary for comfortable use of the premises. Often, due to a frivolous attitude to the layout, tall people are forced to move around the attic, bent over.
Project development requires accurate calculations. For these purposes, experts consider it advisable to use software that is designed specifically for these purposes. This greatly simplifies the process and reduces the risk of serious errors and errors in calculations.
Getting permission
Owners of private houses who decide to build an attic space must obtain special permission. This is a prerequisite for buildings that were originally built much earlier and without an attic. Since the technical passport and design of a building of this kind does not contain information about the presence of a room under the roof, in the absence of permission, the constructed attic will be considered an unauthorized construction. This in turn can lead to criminal liability.
Features and the need to obtain permission to build an attic are prescribed in the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation. If during the construction of a private house the documentation provided for an attic space, then obtaining additional permission for its actual construction is not required.
Without obtaining permission and registering the attic as a residential premises, it is allowed to make changes such as installing new doors and windows in the corresponding openings. Redevelopment, as a result of which the final area of the premises remains the same, is also permitted without obtaining permission.
If it is necessary to increase the total area of the house by installing an attic, you will need to obtain permission from the local administration. To do this, the owner of the house submits an application to the administration at the place of residence to obtain permission to carry out redevelopment or reconstruction. The application should indicate the reason why the owner needs reconstruction, and also list the types of work required for this.
In addition to the application, the owner of the building must provide originals and copies of title documents for a private house and a technical passport for the property, which was issued by the Bureau of Technical Inventory. Also, if there are other homeowners, it is required to provide their consent for reconstruction, certified by a notary. In addition, local governments must provide a redevelopment project.
After reviewing the documents submitted by the homeowner, the administration makes a decision on consent or refusal to issue permission to design the attic. As a rule, this takes from one week to a month.
Design
The design of the future attic directly depends on the purpose of the room planned for use. So, for example, you can turn the attic into:
- library;
- cabinet;
- winter Garden.
And this is not a complete list of possible changes. There were cases when a workshop was made from the attic. Also sometimes the attic became an open area. In this case, the ceiling is made of transparent material for observing the night sky.
When arranging the attic, it is worth considering separately the issue of lighting the room. In order for the space to be well lit, you will need to install additional light holes, which will later become the windows of the future room. It is recommended to make the walls light to visually expand the space and make it more comfortable and warm.
ATTENTION! As for the use of lamps, massive chandeliers, lamps, it is better to avoid them, since the devices will add load to the roof.
If you want to protect the room from sunlight, you can use roller shutters.
Advantages and disadvantages
Previously, attics were the refuge of poor students or other not very noble people. However, now the arrangement of premises on two levels is an indicator of wealth and opportunity. Among the advantages of arranging an attic are:
- expansion of living space;
- availability of beautiful views;
- the possibility of organizing walks on the roof;
- installation of a children's playground;
- installation of a fireplace with wood and ventilation.
There were some downsides too. The disadvantages of this solution are:
- lack of heating, but the problem can be solved by using a fireplace or installing an additional heating system;
- the need for wiring engineering systems to convert the attic into living space;
- regularly climbing stairs, which, for example, is difficult for an elderly person;
- the need to think through the entrance to the attic;
- hard-to-find delivery of furniture and firewood;
- the need to create individual furniture projects;
- presence of noise due to the elevator shaft.
Also, the owner of the attic will have to independently take care of the roof of the house, since it becomes his property. This leads to additional costs, especially if the roof begins to leak.
The operation of an apartment building with an attic is a serious and responsible issue. If you really want to use the room, it is recommended to first resolve the legal issue, and then prepare for the significant costs of putting the attic in order.
