Legal height

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by Sean Reynolds, 19th Oct, 2015.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
Tags:
  1. Sean Reynolds

    Sean Reynolds Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    17
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hi all,

    Since looking for property near Brisbane, I keep seeing advertised properties stating that it is 'legal height'.
    I've only ever purchased in Victoria, and haven't come across this before.
    Is this the minimum height for each room from floor to ceiling that has to be met, or is this the minimum height the bottom floor of the property is elevated to (for flood reasons)?

    Thanks
     
    Sean Reynolds, 19th Oct, 2015
    #1
  2. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    14,000
    Location:
    Brisbane
    Legal height is the height floor to ceiling to allow a habitable room. If a room is too low, it must be called a store room, but cannot be called a bedroom. I think kitchens and bathrooms are 2100 and bedrooms and living rooms 2400 (but that is just off the top of my head).

    That doesn't mean a large family cannot use the store room as a bedroom. Our son had two downstairs bedrooms that couldn't be called bedrooms. They were about an inch short. Made great bedrooms.
     
    wylie, 19th Oct, 2015
    #2
  3. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    27,223
    Location:
    Sydney or NSW or Australia
    Legal height relates to the height of habitable rooms ie bedrooms, lounge rooms, dining rooms, study being a minimum of 2400mm. Whereas utility rooms (kitchen, laundry, bathrooms, ensuite, hallways) can be less than this height.
     
    Scott No Mates, 19th Oct, 2015
    #3
  4. Chode

    Chode Active Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    35
    Location:
    Brisbane
    The reason this is seen in QLD a lot more than other states is because of all the high-set homes. A lot of these home weren't initially built to be be lived in underneath but are now being built-in underneath to make maximum use of space.

    Because these spaces were never intended to be lived in they often don't reach the height requirements of a habitable space. It's one of the first questions asked of an agent regarding a high-set home. Hence the description in the listing you're looking at.
     
    Chode, 20th Oct, 2015
    #4
    Kangaroo likes this.
  5. Sean Reynolds

    Sean Reynolds Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    17
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Thanks! :)
     
    Sean Reynolds, 20th Oct, 2015
    #5
  6. headsonbeds

    headsonbeds Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    20th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    155
    Location:
    Brisbane
    Take these statements with a grain of salt. By the time you re slab, box out joists, electrics, AC, etc what will it be. In saying that 2.4metres is much better than 1
     
    headsonbeds, 20th Oct, 2015
    #6
  7. mcarthur

    mcarthur Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    761
    Location:
    ACT
    As well as needing to be 2.4m (not 2400mm - there's a difference :D) in habitable areas, there are requirements on height as to how much of the room has to be this high. For example, you can have bulkheads that put some of the room under 2.4m, have a sloping roof with 2.9m at one end and 2.1m at the other, etc. I think the rule is that 50% of the room has to be at least 2.4m.
    The importance is that you can't sell the rooms as habitable, so you'll find lots of houses with "storage" under. I believe you can use the term "rumpus room" as well. If they don't meet standard, you can't include them in the list of bedrooms, living rooms, etc. This is pretty important since advertising a 3 bed with storage is very different to a 5-6 bed house!
     
    Last edited: 20th Oct, 2015
    mcarthur, 20th Oct, 2015
    #7
  8. norwoodman

    norwoodman Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    20th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    383
    Location:
    Adelaide SA
    The Building Code of Australia (BCA) goes into a fair bit more detail about requirements of floor to ceiling heights in different areas, but the others here have more of less covered it in a nutshell. Also some requirements around drainage.

    Most highsets in Queensland at their original construction typically have around 1.8m of head height below the joists (i.e. a tall person has to duck).
     
    norwoodman, 20th Oct, 2015
    #8
  9. PICT

    PICT Member

    Joined:
    11th Aug, 2015
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Perth
    Is this the same in WA?? Am currently renting a house with a bedroom that is a converted sleep out, it's less than 2.4 metres but has been called a bedroom and is currently for sale with this room being marketed as a bedroom, might be some good info along with other stuff for me to justify a low ball offer??
     
    PICT, 20th Oct, 2015
    #9
Property Tax Specialists – Enquire Today

Price Accounting provide investor + developer tax services world and Australia wide for your property and all tax issues. Contact Paul@PFI below for our new client pack and quoted pricing + client portal access. Trusts, Co and SMSF are our specialty.