UK bedroom access regs

rjdk

Hi. We've seen an extended Victorian terrace which we're keen on putting an offer on. It's advertised as 3 bedroom, however the 3rd bedroom is only accessible through the bathroom. Does this legally count as a bedroom with no access to the landing & does it comply with current safety regs? Thanks

Pixie5740

That sounds like a hooky loft conversion to me. So in reality this is a 2 bedroom property.

rjdk

It's not in the loft, it's on the 1st floor, it's been built behind the bathroom.

moneyistooshorttomention

You would need to bear in mind, when re-selling the house later, that it's really only 2 bedroom - so that's all anyone would pay for it.

From the description - I've read it that it's literally not possible to access that "3rd bedroom" if someone is using the bathroom at the time access is wanted.

That being the case - I can't imagine it would pass any relevant regulations on that and I can only really visualise it as being for the purposes of extending the bathroom into. Plenty of room then for a bath and a nice big walk-in shower and maybe even fit in a home sauna as well:).

jbainbridge

From what you say - it's the only bathroom? Why do people do this??

Unless it is seriously cheap I would walk away - it'll be a pain to live with and also will be difficult to sell.

G_M

I don't see why that makes it a '2 bedroom' property.

There are 3 bedrooms.

OK - it's inconvenient, but if you like the property and can handle the inconvenience, go for it.

Yes, it will be a drawback when you come to sell, as some buyers looking for a 3 bed property will be put off by the inconvenience, and that will reduce the value.

Perhaps it is worth somewhere between a 2 bed and 3 bed property for the area?

Not sure if it contravenes current building standards, but 90% of the properties in the country contravene current standards in one way or another.

davidmcn

More common is a bedroom only accessible via another bedroom - nothing inherently wrong with that as far as I know, but similarly inconvenient.

RAS

Is there any way to reconfigure the space to allow access from the bedroom to the landing or another room?

And does the bedroom have an external means of escape (window)?

PasturesNew

For some people, this old-fashioned bedroom arrangement's fine. The house will be cheaper than three bedrooms off the landing - and if your kids are all the same sex then it's a better deal for them to share two rooms than one. And/or use one as the play/storage room for those who want one of those.

Having converted one into the bathroom is a bit odd though ... most suited, possibly, to a single/couple, using that as their dressing room/study.

Kynthia

As Victoria properties were built without bathrooms there are lots of different layouts where people have put them in over the years. Many added a downstairs bathroom off the kitchen. However many tried to put them upstairs and either lost a bedroom or came up with odd layouts like this. Doesn't mean they contravened building regs in place at the time.

G_M

Try this: