Structural Survey query

M

mickaxe

Registered User
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Hello,

Structural survey of house has come back ok except for one thing. The downstairs windows have low sills - regulations say that if below 800mm then glass must be of toughened variety. Surveyor saw no marking on the glass to signify this but said that it could be the correct glass. However we spoke to girl in the house beside it and she said that this was the case when she was buying the house and she got the glass changed by the vendor at the time ( a few years ago).

If the glass is not up to building regulation who is responsible for covering this?

Thanks
 
I would say it is your responsibility, I think the building regs are for all new builds, I know there are plans that from next year all houses have to comply with certain regs but at present all 2nd hand have no such obligations. It is the same with the location/height of light switches, the size of DS WC, which now much be a certain dimention, but previously were a lot smaller, and it is not appropriate/possible for some older houses which do not comply with new regulations.

I would say if it is not toughened glass, it is part of your responsibility to install it. There are no penalties for living in a house that doesn't comply with building regs, but anyone building from new/extending may have to comply with the up to date regs.

I am not overally qualified in this field, but the above would be my opinion.
 
Cloughy,

I fear that you're right. My concern is that we have a 16 month old daughter so am worried in terms of her safety. It's not going to turn us off the house completely. My big gripe is that paying €307,000 for the house I don't see why I should have to foot the bill for this.

mickaxe.
 
Sarah W said:
You don't have to foot the bill - buy a different house!
Click to expand...

We don't want to! It's a great buy in a v good location with loads of room for a family that will grow. Heart ruling head and all that!!
 
Are you actually obliged to act on the issue reported by your surveyor? Would leaving the glass as-is impact the purchase in any way? Obviously if the glass is not of the correct type (which is far from clear) then there could be health and safety reasons. If ignoring the problem is not an option or you would not be happy doing this then it seems that you'll either need to foot the bill or look for another house. Of course you should try negotiating for a discount with the vendor.
 
As far as I'm aware, we are not obliged to change the glass and it will not effect the purchase. As you have stated the concern is safety related but I don't think anyone official is going to knock at the door demanding that the glass be changed. We will try to negotiate a discount with the vendor though I don't think we'll be successful.


mickaxe
 
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