Buying property - floor plans don't match the reality

lincroft1710

Also some people take measurements between walls, others between skirting boards

davidmcn

lincroft1710 said:

Also some people take measurements between walls, others between skirting boards

Indeed, I wonder where the OP's "correct" measurements have come from.

greatcrested

lincroft1710 said:

Also some people take measurements between walls, others between skirting boards

Then there's those pesky bay windows, chimney breasts and built-in cupboards....

theartfullodger

Thank developer for pointing out some flexibility on sizes is too be expected, saying in that case you'll take one 3% bigger than measurements but at the same price.

Sidenote:. I owned 3 houses on same estate (local authority) 1960s.  ALL room sizes were different.  I replaced all 3 houses' windows with double glazing.  All windows and doors were different sizes: Utterly weird.

Hasbeen

tsalaj said:

Hi everyone, 
I am looking to buy a flat and have viewing one that i am interested in buying. However, I noticed that approved floor plans do not really represent the real sizes of the rooms. There are deviations of 5-13 cm per room which brings the whole sq meter area down by 1 sqm - so instead of 49 sqm as per plans the real size is not even 48 sqm. I was wondering if the estate agency/developer would be obliged to revise the drawings before exchange of purchase contracts. 
Thank you.
Best,
Tijana 

You went round each room etc with a tape measure, and then calculated total m2 ?  Ok.

But why would the floor plan being revised before purchase change anything? Do they have any type of disclaimer on them?

Property is not built down to the last mm. There is not that precision.

You either want the flat or not?

Are you looking for a reduction?

hazyjo

Pretty sure there is no "legal requirement" for a bedroom to be a certain size, unless there's something with new builds I don't know about.

You may be mixing it up with tenancy laws (may just apply to HMOs).

hazyjo

If it's a council requirement, surely the council have to sign the builds off?

elsien

tsalaj said:

No, I am not. This is for new build and certain councils have their own regulations and in my case this it is Central Bedfordshire. The supplements they refer to are from The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and Residential Space and Layout etc. In short, these regulations are to prevent from selling dwellings that do not meet minimum standards and even draft contract refers to them. Therefore, e.g. if a contract states you are purchasing a 2-bedroom apartment, it's minimum gross size should be 50-61 m2 - that's why it's important to look at the plans.

If yours is a 49 Sq m and is only ever going to be a one bedroom (presumably) anyway, is that relevant?  

[Deleted User]

Glad you have sorted it but wondering what you wanted the outcome to be.  Even if you are right and the rooms are smaller than they should be do you expect them to rebuild the property?

Grumpy_chap

Tolerances of a couple of cm are reasonable for a new build.

tsalaj said:

Well... I managed to sort it out in the meantime... Thanks for the advice...

Glad things worked out for you.  What was the solution?