New build differs to brochure

RelievedSheff

With that layout of houses I would not want those extra windows. Why would you want a view of your car and your neighbours cars from your lounge?

Flugelhorn

I can imagine that those windows overlooking someone's driveway will end up with blinds up at them and probably rarely opened. I would stick to the 2 windows and have more flexibility in the room. re the hall cupboard, our house was an earlier one on an estate and we bought it when it was 9 years old. It has a utility room of the breakfast room, later houses of this style just have a larger breakfast room and no utility room with the WM & units etc in the breakfast room - I doubt they changed the planning for that 

Titus_Wadd

Is the house you are buying (with only two windows) a floorplan that the developer also sells on the site?  Meaning is there a price difference between the two and four window lounge versions?  That might be a way to squeeze a few quid difference out of the builder (they might prefer to throw in a few extras rather than hand back cash.  Whether it's worth the effort to quibble with them only you can answer.

I think once you're settled you'll probably feel less of a loss and hopefully you'll be very happy in your new home.  If the house were on a corner plot with views through those windows I'd probably be miffed too, though DIYstarter would have serious security concerns with a corner house  so you've dodged that bullet!

lincroft1710

jonnym1985 said:

After a bit of searching I have found the approved plans online. So, they don’t have the windows but do show a store cupboard off the hallway (which wasn’t built either)

We were never aware of this, would have been handy but we can live without. I thought surely houses have to be built exactly to planning permission?

If so, fair enough about the windows, there has still been a mistake somewhere, now we have the question about the missing storeroom.

The plot thickens  

PS I’d just like to say I know none of you can answer definitively or make any of this right but we do want to thank everyone for the advice and guidance. Even just pointing us in the right direction, and also listening to my rant.

Cheers all

From personal experience and reading many threads on this forum, planners rarely check on what has actually been built. They certainly won't worry about a missing internal store considering the differences  that frequently occur between plan and build.


For information (the omission of the store does not require this), if a property is built contrary to the planning consent then after a few years the owner can apply for "Lawful Development Certificate" (Google it) to regularise matters.

sheramber

Your neighbour could put up  6 foot fence along their drive so you could be looking out onto a fence.

[Deleted User]

RelievedSheff said:

With that layout of houses I would not want those extra windows. Why would you want a view of your car and your neighbours cars from your lounge?

Climate control. Since British houses don't have any meaningful HVAC system, having windows on multiple sides is the only way to get air moving and cool the room.

mi-key

[Deleted User] said:

RelievedSheff said:

With that layout of houses I would not want those extra windows. Why would you want a view of your car and your neighbours cars from your lounge?

Climate control. Since British houses don't have any meaningful HVAC system, having windows on multiple sides is the only way to get air moving and cool the room.

That works both ways though. In the colder months ( most of the time in the UK apart from the brief spell of stupidly hot weather we get in the summer ) having more windows makes the room colder and increases heating costs. 

jonnym1985

Titus_Wadd said:

Is the house you are buying (with only two windows) a floorplan that the developer also sells on the site?  Meaning is there a price difference between the two and four window lounge versions?  That might be a way to squeeze a few quid difference out of the builder (they might prefer to throw in a few extras rather than hand back cash.  Whether it's worth the effort to quibble with them only you can answer.

I think once you're settled you'll probably feel less of a loss and hopefully you'll be very happy in your new home.  If the house were on a corner plot with views through those windows I'd probably be miffed too, though DIYstarter would have serious security concerns with a corner house  so you've dodged that bullet!

Hi, the brochure, marketing suite posters and selection drawings all have the 4 windows. There is no option for 2 or 4 at different prices. The estate agent only found this out the same day I did, when they had another couple looking at the plot next to us, and was as shocked as we were as she had always been referring to 4 windows when discussing the plots. The building plans differ though and that is how the issue seems to have happened. We’ve come to terms with it now and as a lot have mentioned above, it may have worked in our favour with more privacy and more options to furnish.

No doubt the brochure and drawings will change again, or at least people will be made aware of the difference, as the developers themselves admitted they didn’t know how this has happened.

[Deleted User]

mi-key said:

[Deleted User] said:

RelievedSheff said:

With that layout of houses I would not want those extra windows. Why would you want a view of your car and your neighbours cars from your lounge?

Climate control. Since British houses don't have any meaningful HVAC system, having windows on multiple sides is the only way to get air moving and cool the room.

That works both ways though. In the colder months ( most of the time in the UK apart from the brief spell of stupidly hot weather we get in the summer ) having more windows makes the room colder and increases heating costs. 

Try closing the triple glazed windows.

gwynlas

Having the cloakroom under the stairs but not having the planned storage cupboard would concern me as there is no downstairs space for ironing board vacuum cleaner coats etc,