Estate agent falsely advertising

stig

Unfortunately that’s what happens when you start looking for a legal definition of a “bedroom” which doesn’t really in this context exist.  The only remotely relevant law is the housing act provisions around overcrowding, and this is very flexible as to what can be counted as a space for sleeping when working out is a property is statutorily overcrowded.  Kitchens have been included before, a house with a suitable dining room would almost certainly be used as available space in working out if a property is legally overcrowded. So, if estate agents are told that room x can’t be a bedroom cos it’s too small, it’s perfectly reasonable for them to counter  with “then the dining room can be a bedroom cos it’s big enough”

It’s not really an appropriate test as it compares actual occupants at any time  with available space in the property, and estate agents have no idea what occupancy will be or how purchasers will use the space when they sell a house x they might remodel the property completely, use the rooms for whatever they wish, sleep in the conservatory and use the bedrooms as a gym/walk in wardrobe, it’s totally up to them. Why would estate agents consider overcrowding laws when selling a three bedroom semi to a childless couple, even if one bedroom is a bit poky? It will be for the occupants to ensure they aren’t overcrowded, not the vendor or their agent.

It’s not like people buy houses sight unseen and get a shock when they see what they have bought - does it really matter what an estate agent calls a room? Just look at what’s on sale and if it meets your needs, and if it doesn’t, don’t buy it. 

It’s probably easier not to make any assumptions given that it’s a fact estate agents will say whatever they can get away with to sell the property, it’s their job 😋

AdrianC

ElizabethRose said:

A certain estate agent keeps labelling dining rooms as bedrooms. They're traditional 1930s 3 bed semis so when you see 4 beds you assume the loft has been done. No they've just decided the dining room is now bedroom. 

Perhaps if buyers stopped having this bizarre viewpoint that the only measurement that matters is a count of "bedrooms"...

How big is your house?
"Three bed."
No, how big is it? Floor area...?
"Umm... No idea."

Norman_Castle

chrislocks said:

I’ve viewed it , it was marketed and sold as 2 bed 2 years ago , seems they can do what they like 

 Was the agent wrong two years ago?

Redwino222

Herbalus said:

There is a house just gone up for sale near my parents for £700k. The last sold price was £400k in 2017, and according to the pictures from that sale, the only thing that’s changed is they haven’t bothered to keep up with the hedge pruning. The EA is either lying through their teeth in the description of property “extensively updated” or has been sold a dummy and hasn’t bothered to check.

There is nothing we can do about it either, apart from have a good laugh and watch it not get sold. I might even call the EA and have a chortle down the phone whilst asking if it’s a typo - it’s a small boring village in east anglia (and not a posh area like cambridge or north norfolk) that can support maybe max 500k for the village manor.

how do you know it is wrong this time when maybe it should actually have been described as a 3 bed last time?

Why do you care though?  I could never get this worked up about an estate agent description.  

davidmcn

Not sure why (especially in the current climate) somebody would be bothering with a viewing if they don't even know what size the rooms are.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

You might as well complain that they have called the lounge the dining room, and called the dining room the lounge.

The house has rooms.  They are what they are.  You use them as you see fit.

MaryNB

theartfullodger said:

What is size of this walk in closet?  To be legal for just an under 10 child it must be 4.6 to 6.4 sq metres.

'sfunny how many estate agents seem to be unaware of the law 

I saw a "2-bed" flat advertised in my area last year where the "second bedroom" was less than 4 m2.  Anybody looking at it could see it was at best a large cupboard. Unless they found a buyer with terrible sense of space all they were doing was wasting people's time. Anybody with "2 bedrooms" in their search criteria would dismiss it very quickly. Anybody looking for a 1-bed wouldn't buy it because it was priced as a 2-bed.