Terraced house - what happens if you need to rebuild one of them?

dan_first_time_buyer

Hi,

I am looking for a house to buy and, given my budget, it will probably be a terraced house (TH).

I have a question about TH - I hope it is not too silly.

What happens if one of the owners wants/needs to rebuild their house which, let's say, is in the middle? Is that possible at all?

And, also, the houses in a terrace will not stand forever - at some point they will need rebuild. How will that work? All the owners in the block need to agree when to do that?

Thanks,
Dan

FreeBear

dan_first_time_buyer wrote: »

And, also, the houses in a terrace will not stand forever - at some point they will need rebuild. How will that work? All the owners in the block need to agree when to do that?

If a row of terrace houses fall in to such a state of disrepair that they need rebuilding, they would be classed as a slum. In which case, a compulsory purchase order could be made and then the whole block demolished.

That said, it is not uncommon for a single terrace needing to be rebuilt - After a fire for example. As long as the outer skin is reasonably intact, installing new floors, ceilings, and roof is relatively straightforward without too much disruption to neighbouring properties.

da_rule

If there was a catastrophic event, like a fire, then insurance would cover it. Which is why it’s important to have insurance and make sure that you have the right level of cover and have given the insurer the correct information.

It is, in theory, possible to develop a mid-terrace property but this would be expensive and very time consuming. It could also be quite problematic to secure the relevant planning permissions etc. If development was authorised you’d be having to look at party wall agreements as well as additional structural works to provide support to the neighbouring properties during the works.

Doozergirl

Have you ever seen anyone rebuilding a terraced house?

It's just not a thing. If there was a chance of your terraced house needing rebuilding with the term of your mortgage, they'd not be giving you one.

The occasional unexpected disaster happens. That's for insurance companies; but that said, even fire damaged properties don't need rebuilding all that much, externally. We're talking explosion to need a rebuild .