House Survey Faults

sam30

Hi there would appreciate some advice.

Went sale agreed on a property and got a structural engineer report today. He mentioned a number of minor faults two big ones were no air vents for suspended wooden floors which might cause problems underneath and one of the windows is too small to meet builder regulations. I am just wondering are these defects the responsibility of vendor legally as they fail to meet building regulations or are they mine if I chose to go ahead?

Thanks

Bigcheeze

sam30 wrote: »

Hi there would appreciate some advice.

Went sale agreed on a property and got a structural engineer report today. He mentioned a number of minor faults two big ones were no air vents for suspended wooden floors which might cause problems underneath and one of the windows is too small to meet builder regulations. I am just wondering are these defects the responsibility of vendor legally as they fail to meet building regulations or are they mine if I chose to go ahead?

Thanks

Building regulations change over time so most second hand houses will not comply with current regulations. There's no legal responsibility to modify houses to comply with current regulations.

Ventilation is a common one, yet ironically older houses will have lots of draughts, so why add more draughts

Ray Palmer

I'd ask them to lift a floor board and check there is no dry rot. Just to be on the safe side. Very easy to put in a vent and minor dry rot is not an issue but you want to make sure.

daheff

you paid for the report to inform you as to what issues there may be with the house. You should provide a copy to the vendor and ask them what (if anything) they propose to do to remedy the issues. They could suggest you fix the issues yourself (As they are minor) or may be prepared to do something

StillWaters

daheff wrote: »

you paid for the report to inform you as to what issues there may be with the house. You should provide a copy to the vendor and ask them what (if anything) they propose to do to remedy the issues. They could suggest you fix the issues yourself (As they are minor) or may be prepared to do something

There is nothing to remedy. The house met building regulations at the relevant time.

sam30

ok thanks for the replies much appreciated

kkelliher

Just like anything second hand it is sold as seen and you have to take it as you find it.

Bottom line is you dont have to buy but you can be sure that someone will

engineermike

Hi,
as the other posters have said there is no requirement to ensure the home meets the current building regulations and knowledge and best practice changes over time, only a small percentage of buildings are upgraded or maintained that ensures they tick every box (in the technical sense).

However i'm sure your offer is subject to survey, so query the estimated costs for the works likely to be required to ensure the property isn't defective, or have latent problems that will cause you to have to spend money early on during your ownership.
Don't include costs for general improvements (up grades to fixtures, fittings, energy retention, heating systems etc.) - just the the cost to ensure problems such as damp, rot are not going to present in the future (if not already).
Present your counter offer to the EA to relay to the vendor, with a caveat that if they let you inspect further prior to purchase to ensure a problem does not already exist you will increase the offer closer to your original price.
There is a lot of sense in the other posters comment that older buildings tend to look after themselves in respect of ventilation. Its when you begin to change how that process works through modern upgrades in insulation, air tightness, and other envelope detailing / openings etc. - problems can then begin to manifest.
mf

rtron

I would (if I was you) investigate the window not meeting the builders regulations a bit more.

In a similar case I am currently in: 2 rooms in a house I am buying had incorrect windows that should have met building regulation at the time it was built.
This means that the bank is not lending me the money to purchase the house until this issue has been solved.

The problem was found by my surveyor and the vendors have to correct problem if they want to sell the house.

In theory I could actually buy it if I had the the money in full - but if I bought it and wanted to sell it again then I would be buying this problem.

Perhaps your window issue is not the same as this one, but hope this helps.

sam30

Thanks to everyone for your contribution. We have since been told that we have to get subfloor air vents dug into the structure or all the floors will rot in a few years. Anyone have any idea how much putting these vents in would cost?

Thanks

Bigcheeze

sam30 wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for your contribution. We have since been told that we have to get subfloor air vents dug into the structure or all the floors will rot in a few years. Anyone have any idea how much putting these vents in would cost?

Thanks

Probably very little. Effectively all you're doing is punching some small holes in the exterior walls so that air can circulate under the floor boards.

Ray Palmer

Bigcheeze wrote: »

Probably very little. Effectively all you're doing is punching some small holes in the exterior walls so that air can circulate under the floor boards.

It is something most people could do in a day if they hire a decent drill.

Moonbeam

I would get a rough estimated for the cost of repairs and offer to split it with the vendors,reflecting the reduction in the sale price.

engineermike

Hi,
The cost for installing these vents / vent bricks is minimal. There is no more than a day's labor in it & very small material cost.
A couple of hundred euro maximum in my estimation.
rgds,
mike f