No windows in room - against the law??

Nalz

as the title suggests, is it against the law to have only a door and a plastic see through window coming onto a living room area (which is not at access height)?

thanks

edit: refering to a Bedroom if its not clear

Victor

Do you mean "No windows in Broom"?

I'm not sure if its illegal, but it is certainly dubious. What is the ventilation situation.

Nalz

no air vents or windows in bedroom. a door and a plastic window about 2 feet height from the ceiling, 3 feet long.

is it not the law to have a fire exit (2nd one other than the door)? what if door caught fire?

Lex Luthor

I just had the house I'm buying fail its snag list because all the bedroom windows didn't open completely for fire exit access. Also, no proper ventilation in each room was provided.

The windows are the 2 position opening system...tilt at the top and swing open depending on the handle position, but the wrong ones were installed (they only opened at the tilt position).

The house next door didn't snag and it was found out that they also have the incorrect windows.

New windows are being ordered which has delayed closing by over 4 weeks, but I wouldn't move into a house that didn't allow a quick exit from each room through the window.

Victor

Trilla wrote:

no air vents or windows in bedroom.

Legally not a bedroom. It would be pushing it as a living room (where people don't sleep).

Nalz

Victor wrote:

Legally not a bedroom. It would be pushing it as a living room (where people don't sleep).

so what your saying is in a 4 bedroom flat it is okay to have 4 bedrooms with no windows or even an air vent? further more the kitchen and bathroom windows are barred, preventing an opening of 3 inches or more. the only exits we have are the back door and front door....

eth0_

Trilla wrote:

so what your saying is in a 4 bedroom flat it is okay to have 4 bedrooms with no windows or even an air vent? further more the kitchen and bathroom windows are barred, preventing an opening of 3 inches or more. the only exits we have are the back door and front door....

No, he's clearly saying the opposite.
If there's no window in the room, it's not a bedroom and shouldn't be rented as such. Why would you even want to live in a bedroom with no window, you wouldn't expect an animal to live like that.

Nalz

Its a nice flat and its in a good location to suit us all. cheap with great heating and bills paid for.

we'll keep the whole "you're breakin the law with no windows in rooms you reprobate " thing close to our chest just incase the landlord gets a little nasty over anything!!

Victor

And if theres a fire that spreads to the corridor, would you be happy that one or all of you friends dies because there was no means of escape.

Honestly, don't rent it and report it to the local fire officer.

Nalz

:eek:

Lex Luthor

Victors right...its a death trap....

"HERE LIES TRILLA, BURNED IN HIS/HER FLAT AFTER A FIRE STARTED BECAUSE HE/SHE WAS TOO MEAN TO PAY A FEW EXTRA EURO FOR A PROPER BEDROOM WITH WINDOWS"

If you are asking the question, then surely you must be concerned....

At least tell us the place has a few smoke detectors?????:rolleyes:

superman12345

It is not necessarily a death trap:

If it is an apartment - the Fire Escape provisions are (generally) NOT provided by escaping out the window. Apartments (generally) have internal fire escapes - which means that the corridor has self closing doors to all rooms and the doors have a fire rating of 1 hour. This leads then to a protected fire escape staircase and thus to the outside.
The reason for this is that you wouldn't be expected to escape out the window
of a building over 2 storeys.

So the issue is not regarding fire escape.

If there is no ventilation in the room, then the room is not classed as habitable accomodation. It cannot be a livingroom either.

Victor

If the bedrooms don't have windows, do you honestly think the fire escapes are in order?

foxy06

When I was 18 and had no sense (I'm only 24 now but still with no sense) I rented a bedsit for 60 pounds a week that was literaly a room with a door and no windows and a toilet/shower. I ended up extremely sick and depressed and I know the fact that there was no natural light and not much air circulating was the cause. I lasted 6 weeks but looking back now I should have sued the landlord.

Don't move in if you value your health.

superman12345

Victor wrote:

If the bedrooms don't have windows, do you honestly think the fire escapes are in order?

Yes, I do. As an architect I've worked with firms which have designed apartments with "storage rooms" (wink, wink, nudge nudge - gee you could fit a fine double bed, a wardrobe and some lockers into to that). This will depend on the plan of the overall block.