Cant sell my flat due to being under 30sqm

Leeannero1

NameUnavailable said:

Lots of rules about flats have changed in recent years. Lenders are more cautious on a number of points including flats under a certain size, high and or doubling ground rents, requirement for EWS1 forms, short leases etc. etc.

Many of these points simply weren't an issue before, but they are now.

It's annoying for buyers too - I have seen a place I'd like to buy but it has high/doubling ground rent which is a deal breaker for me.

My ground rent isn't that high, maybe you could buy mine ? lol  

AdrianC

Leeannero1 said:

AdrianC said:

26m2 is, honestly, tiny. Would you be so kind as to show us the floorplan?

TBH, I'm surprised you got a mortgage in 2019.

This is the 2015 "Nationally Described Space Standard". It's not legally binding, but as government guidance, it is a very strong suggestion as to minimum spaces in properties.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524531/160519_Nationally_Described_Space_Standard____Final_Web_version.pdf

Also...
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Minimum_space_standards

For a single person, one bedroom - 37m2. That's not just a little bigger than yours, it's over 40% bigger.
For two people, 50m2. Damn near double yours.

Thank you so much for the links, I may look into this and see who is liable if I now cant sell. 

Nobody is liable. You were lucky enough to find a lender who were happy to accept it as security at the time. Lenders change their criteria.

As well as the flat itself - and a 1-bed is a different kettle of halibut to a studio - that bedroom is too small to count as a single under those Nationally Described Space Standard rules. Minimum 7.5m2, 2.15m wide. Yours fits on width, but is only 7.1m2.

Mind you, there's heck of a lot of older houses (including ours) which fail on the 2.3m minimum headroom... our downstairs is barely over 2m.

Billy_B_North

Leeannero1 said:

davidmcn said:

Leeannero1 said:

AdrianC said:

26m2 is, honestly, tiny. Would you be so kind as to show us the floorplan?

TBH, I'm surprised you got a mortgage in 2019.

This is the 2015 "Nationally Described Space Standard". It's not legally binding, but as government guidance, it is a very strong suggestion as to minimum spaces in properties.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524531/160519_Nationally_Described_Space_Standard____Final_Web_version.pdf

Also...
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Minimum_space_standards

For a single person, one bedroom - 37m2. That's not just a little bigger than yours, it's over 40% bigger.
For two people, 50m2. Damn near double yours.

Thank you so much for the links, I may look into this and see who is liable if I now cant sell. 

I can't see why anybody else would be liable.

I don't know if anyone is, but surely I should have not been able to get a mortgage on an unmorgageable property. a solicitor or someone should have picked up on this? 

It wasn’t unmortgageable when you bought, as you were able to get a mortgage.

It’s not a great situation to be in, but no-one’s to blame here, it’s just one of those things that can happen.

Wanderingpomm

Leeannero1 said:

deannagone said:

You managed to get a mortgage on it in 2019 so it was clearly mortageable then.  It may be with more limited lenders now, it may not. But no one could foresee that at the time.., especially as you did get a mortgage yourself.

Yes its still mortgageable with limited lenders ive been told. However my buyer has pulled out as she thinks she won't be able to sell it on in the future, and she is most probably right. 
Its just 2 buyers have now pulled out and it makes selling my home even more difficult.  I really hope someone who wants to buy can get a lender. it just seems such a silly rule. 

It’s not a silly rule. Accommodation is getting smaller and smaller. People should respect the minimum space requirements. Bedsits used to have a separate kitchen. Sleeping next to where you cook is a recent thing driven by people trying to make as much money as possible 

Alan2020

I think people are harsh with the OP.  Personally I think these minimum space requirements should not be retrospectively applied. Meaning that planning and building control permitted it was acceptable.
Hence it should be available to rent and mortgageable at a fair rate. If mortgages are refused by an FCA regulated bank then the regulator should suspend that lender from lending until they pay a fine equal to the mortgage.
Also if silly rules like this are brought then the department responsible for it should buy back all these at the original predicted market rate and demolish them.

I think for a single person or couple it’s a lovely little private space than some wretched HMO.

How would all of you feel if I came to power and said if your house isn’t minimum 250m2 for a 2 bed and have a 4 car driveway and 100m deep garden you cannot rent out or get a mortgage. It will wipe the grin off your faces. 

LAD917

Can you or your agent speak to a mortgage broker, understand what lenders will loan on the property, and then proactively steer buyers to those lenders?  When I've sold properties with "issues" (not this issue in particular), I've worked with agents to provide buyers with solutions / steer them to the path of least resistance.

NameUnavailable

Alan2020 said:

I think for a single person or couple it’s a lovely little private space than some wretched HMO.

How would all of you feel if I came to power and said if your house isn’t minimum 250m2 for a 2 bed and have a 4 car driveway and 100m deep garden you cannot rent out or get a mortgage. It will wipe the grin off your faces. 

It obviously appeals as the OP has had 2 buyers already. They just need a buyer with cash or who is willing to do some legwork to find a lender.

I can imagine lenders getting nervous about lending on any property without electric car charging points in a few years time....

Billy_B_North

Alan2020 said:

I think people are harsh with the OP.  Personally I think these minimum space requirements should not be retrospectively applied. Meaning that planning and building control permitted it was acceptable.
Hence it should be available to rent and mortgageable at a fair rate. If mortgages are refused by an FCA regulated bank then the regulator should suspend that lender from lending until they pay a fine equal to the mortgage.

That’s ludicrous.

Banks can choose who they lend to, and at what rate. It is their shareholder’s capital at risk, and no-one is going to force them to lend against poor security?

You forget that banks are not a utility, they are not a public service, they are businesses who exist to make a profit.

Marshaltown

OP currently some mortgage Lenders will lend on properties like yours, others won't. It's possible when you applied for your mortgage you "struck gold" and went straight to one of the Lenders that lends on these types of properties. Maybe they still do? Basically you may have to wait until a purchaser proceeds with an appropriate Lender, just the same as you did.

Alan2020

Billy_B_North said:

That’s ludicrous.

Banks can choose who they lend to, and at what rate. It is their shareholder’s capital at risk, and no-one is going to force them to lend against poor security?

You forget that banks are not a utility, they are not a public service, they are businesses who exist to make a profit.

Residential mortgages are a regulated product and banks themselves are regulated. They cannot do as they please. Ultimately the property has zero value because someone said you cannot rent and the banks decided not to offer a mortgage. Both are wrong.

You do realise I am talking of the UK here, which is for all intents and purposes a socialist country. We both cannot just open a bank or start a lottery or even sell shares to the public or even evict people for not paying rent. Banks have to toe the socialist line, tax is collected and social security paid to the needy and the not so needy. A visit to the US will quickly enlighten you about how certain businesses are expected to behave in the UK.