Can we list our house as a 3 bed property

first78

We had our house valued yesterday and want to put it on the market next week. One thing that surprised me is the estate agent said they couldn't market the house as a  3 bed property as the third room is only accessible through the second bedroom. I know when we bought the house it was listed as a 3 bed property, so just wondered if the law has changed?
Any advice is appreciated and many thanks in advance.

onwards&upwards

There's no law covering this, it will just be the agent's policy, and probably a sensible one.  Most people who want a 3 bed won't consider a layout like yours, so you won't get the views on right move from your actual potential buyers. 

ElephantBoy57

first78 said:

One thing that surprised me is the estate agent said they couldn't market the house as a  3 bed property as the third room is only accessible through the second bedroom. I know when we bought the house it was listed as a 3 bed property, so just wondered if the law has changed?

Is the bedroom in the loft, my next-door neighbours house is like that.

first78

onwards&upwards said:

There's no law covering this, it will just be the agent's policy, and probably a sensible one.  Most people who want a 3 bed won't consider a layout like yours, so you won't get the views on right move from your actual potential buyers. 

Thanks, will query this with them as they sold it to us as a 3 bed property. Maybe their policy has changed but houses like this are pretty common where we are. 
If the write up makes it clear that access to the third bedroom is through the second bedroom then it is clear to potential buyers.

warby68

Round here that would go on as 2/3 bed.

HampshireH

Thats really interesting. I always thought you needed a clear means of escape in the event of fire to confirm with fire regs and therefore needed to have a seperate exit.

X

My late mothers Victorian terrace was like that - 3rd bedroom off the second.
While a lot of owners converted the third bedroom into a bathroom, not all did, and they were always marketed as three beds.

You could always describe it as 3rd bed / dressing room.
Might even be ideal as a bedroom for a young child, so near to the parents.

hazyjo

Would agree with warby, it would usually say 2/3 bedrooms and that 3rd room will often be labelled as 'Bed 3 / nursery / dressing room'.

One house I viewed like it, they decided to take it off the market and change the layout before remarketing as they were losing too much money.

SameOldRoundabout

My old house had been badly extended, so the original back bedroom was now the middle bedroom. Both rooms had their own doors but were linked by an arch in the middle. So TECHNICALLY it was 5 bedrooms but it could only be advertised as 4 due to the lack of window in the middle room. Try another agent but maybe 2/3 would be the best outcome 

davidmcn

Not "illegal" to describe it as such, but probably not helpful.

Is it a common layout in the area? If so, what has everyone else done?