House purchase

So we have an offer on a house, the structural examination of the property has flagged the main bedroom as not meeting habitable requirements because the ceiling is 3cms short. So technically unless it’s approved by council retrospectively (which I’m told is highly unlikely) or corrected we are effectively buying a 3x2 instead of a 4x2.

The house (in our eyes) is amazing and we don’t want to lose it, it was only built 13 years ago (boom time Perth) so the BCA requirements were in place back then.. I am calling the builder today (won’t name them) because whilst they are under no obligation to correct it they may. Has anyone had to deal with a similar predicament? 3cms sounds like nothing but when we go to sell what’s going to happen or if we go to correct it and it’s 15k plus council approval costs that really shouldn’t be our burden to carry.

Thoughts...?

 

Approached the vendor to ask whether they've tried to get retrospective approval?

I can see you in the future trying to sell the property, wondering why no one is interested; meanwhile one of your potential buyers is posting on a property forum asking if anyone has had to deal with BCA non-compliance on a house they think is amazing...

 

The vendor had no idea, they built the house and the builder has cut a corner unbeknownst to them. We are waiting to hear back from the local council if the builder put forward an alternate solution.

Not sure what your other comments mean, don’t seem seem helpful either way?

 

I'm suggesting that history is likely to repeat itself.

Why not make an offer subject to full council approval / BCA compliance, and put the burden on their shoulders?

 

Or make an offer low enough to deal with the problem?

 

Is there an obvious reason why one of the bedrooms has lower ceilings than the rest of the house? Different flooring in that room? A tray or suspended ceiling? Something else?
It's odd that only one room would be different. Based on my understanding of frames and ceiling joists, I can't understand how there could be such a difference unless the actual ceiling covering is different which reduced the space between the ceiling and the floor.
Do you have phots of that room and other rooms for comparison? Maybe there is a clue in the detail.

 

This bedroom is on the second floor, the others are not. Good in one way in that it can be corrected.

 

The builder probably knows all about this but isn't going to admit anything. Did the house pass its final building inspection? You can forget about the vendor being willing to fix the problem for you, they are trying to sell the house as is.

You can make an offer of what a three bedroom house is worth, because that is what is being sold to you. Be prepared to walk away or be happy to live in a bedroom that is 3 cms shorter than the other rooms. I imagine that you couldn't tell just by looking. I cant imagine how "correcting" the height will be easy or economical. You cannot just cut into the roof bearers or the floor joists. Your choices are to either buy a three bedroom house or to walk away.

 

Some builders have remedied similar issues on 15 year old homes so worth a shot. I’m not sure how they can’t admit they are in the wrong, measuring tapes don’t lie, wether they do anything is a different story. I’m going to have the owner organise a quote to lift the ceiling (ive been told 10 grand as an estimate) so I know it can be done and then we can make an informed decision. Makes sense to me.

 

Turns out the council couldn't care less and "would not pursue a bedroom ceiling height 3cms short of BCA requirements". We can do nothing or for peace of mind for the future, get retrospective approval via a surveyor and a $221 application fee to the council.

 

O wow, that is fantastic. I hear that my local council would go ape on you. I personally know of several people who have been forced to remove perfectly good patios, carports and similar for the most insane reasons. Enjoy your lovely new home!

 

That's great news.
So is all of upstairs that height? is it brick upstairs?
I'm curious because 28 courses of brick always equals 2.4m ceilings

 

They only measured the one bedroom not the space that comes off the bedroom (all other bedrooms are downstairs), it’s all brick. If you took into consideration the hardwood floors it’s minimal really...but still I need approval to be completely satisfied.