No extractor fan in kitchen?

Frank99

My father in law is hoping to move into an apartment or bungalow and sell his house due to mobility problems, he was had a survey done to make sure everything was up to date and it was apart from one thing, he has no extractor fan in the kitchen or bathroom.

He loves to cook with his gas cooker and has done so for over 40 years, he has a dehumidifier that gets rid of any moisture in the kitchen.
There are no problems with his home in with damp probably due to his dehumidifier but the inspector said since 2006 or so homes need an extractor in the kitchen.

According to the internet this seems to be true but would he need to get one installed before selling?

BUFF

does the kitchen  have a window or door that opens to outside?

Sandtree

Frank99 said:

My father in law is hoping to move into an apartment or bungalow and sell his house due to mobility problems, he was had a survey done to make sure everything was up to date and it was apart from one thing, he has no extractor fan in the kitchen or bathroom.

He loves to cook with his gas cooker and has done so for over 40 years, he has a dehumidifier that gets rid of any moisture in the kitchen.
There are no problems with his home in with damp probably due to his dehumidifier but the inspector said since 2006 or so homes need an extractor in the kitchen.

According to the internet this seems to be true but would he need to get one installed before selling?

Whats above the hob at the moment? A dehumidifier will deal with moisture in the air but a lot less efficient at dealing with the condensation that forms from the steam hitting the unit or whatever is above it.

An extractor fan can be added, easily if you go for a recirculating one, if its worthwhile to do is another Q

Frank99

BUFF said:

does the kitchen  have a window or door that opens to outside?

It has two windows that open to the driveway and a door which opens into his conservatory, he also has a large vent in his pantry but it is just an air vent non mechanical..

Frank99

Sandtree said:

Frank99 said:

My father in law is hoping to move into an apartment or bungalow and sell his house due to mobility problems, he was had a survey done to make sure everything was up to date and it was apart from one thing, he has no extractor fan in the kitchen or bathroom.

He loves to cook with his gas cooker and has done so for over 40 years, he has a dehumidifier that gets rid of any moisture in the kitchen.
There are no problems with his home in with damp probably due to his dehumidifier but the inspector said since 2006 or so homes need an extractor in the kitchen.

According to the internet this seems to be true but would he need to get one installed before selling?

Whats above the hob at the moment? A dehumidifier will deal with moisture in the air but a lot less efficient at dealing with the condensation that forms from the steam hitting the unit or whatever is above it.

An extractor fan can be added, easily if you go for a recirculating one, if its worthwhile to do is another Q

There is nothing above his gas cooker although it is a cheap small version i think, manual oven not fan, he used to just open a window in the old days to let any steam out so he is shocked that he has not heard of this before in fact he told us he has no idea what an extractor fan is!

We have a basic extractor fan in our kitchen although ours is not a hood, it is just on the wall.

BUFF

Frank99 said:

BUFF said:

does the kitchen  have a window or door that opens to outside?

It has two windows that open to the driveway and a door which opens into his conservatory, he also has a large vent in his pantry but it is just an air vent non mechanical..

If it was built before 2006 then my understanding is that an extractor is not required legally.

Sandtree

BUFF said:

Frank99 said:

BUFF said:

does the kitchen  have a window or door that opens to outside?

It has two windows that open to the driveway and a door which opens into his conservatory, he also has a large vent in his pantry but it is just an air vent non mechanical..

If it was built before 2006 then my understanding is that an extractor is not required legally.

If it's post 2005 then the OP has more explaining to do as to how their father has achieved 40 years of cooking in a property under 16 years old

Frank99 said:

He loves to cook with his gas cooker and has done so for over 40 years, he has a dehumidifier that gets rid of any moisture in the kitchen.

Most regs are not retrospectively applied and only if certain things are done can make them become applicable. Our fusebox/consumer unit isnt up to current regs but thats fine, we can still have it, change components in it etc but were we to change the consumer unit the new one would have to comply with current code.

kazwookie

I don't have one in my kitchen, house build about 1964 or so, I had the kitchen pulled out and refitted last year. To me they make far too much noise, I have a window that opens out

BUFF

Sandtree said:

If it's post 2005 then the OP has more explaining to do as to how their father has achieved 40 years of cooking in a property under 16 years old

Frank99 said:

He loves to cook with his gas cooker and has done so for over 40 years, he has a dehumidifier that gets rid of any moisture in the kitchen.

The kitchen could have been extended in which case if it was post 2005 the new regs would have become applicable. 
 (&, being extremely pedantic, it doesn't explicitly say that he has enjoyed cooking in the same house/kitchen for over 40 years )

casper_gutman

Building regulations only provide rules for how to build things. They don't have anything to say about things which have already been built.

The survey isn't really telling you that the kitchen "must" have an extractor. What it is telling you is that a kitchen built now would need one - and implicitly that a buyer will expect to find one.

If the house is generally a "project" then don't worry about the lack of an extractor fan. Buyers will be budgeting for a whole new kitchen anyway!

canaldumidi

He is under no obligation, legally or morally, to fit an extractor fan. The new owner is free to make whatever improvements they want.

Of course, having it fitted might make the property more attractive to buyers generally, though such a minor improvement won't really influence people, or it might satisfy a worried or pernickerty First Time Buyer reading a survey and panicking.