Non-standard construction houses

It is important to know whether the home you are buying is of standard or non-standard construction. The type of construction can affect insurance costs, mortgage availability and how easy it will be to sell within the future.

What is a non-standard construction house?

Any house which is not built out of brick and stone with a slate or tiled roof is considered non-standard construction. There are many different types of non-standard construction, timber frame, steel frame and precast concrete or in-situ concrete construction.

What are the types of non-standard construction?

There are 100s of types of non-standard construction houses. Generally non-standard houses can be split into four categories: timber framed, metal framed, pre-cast concrete and in-situ concrete construction.

Timber framed houses: The most popular type of timber framed house is the Frameform with approximately 13,000 built.

Metal framed houses: The two most popular types of metal framed houses are the B1 Aluminium bungalow (approx. 55,00 built) and the BISF house (approx. 35,000 built).

Pre-cast concrete houses: Two of the most popular type of pre-cast concrete houses are the Cornish units (approx. 30,000) and the Airey house (approx. 26,000).

In-situ concrete houses: The most popular type of in-situ concrete houses is the Wimpey no fines home, with approximately 300,000 built in the U.K.

Can you get a mortgage on a non-standard property?

You can get a mortgage on a non-standard property unless it has been designated as defective. Even those properties which have not been designated as defective can have limited availability to mortgage products. Mortgage lenders often categorise houses as standard and non-standard construction to classify risk. Generally speaking, non-standard construction properties are considered a higher risk.

Can you get home insurance on non-standard construction properties?

It can be difficult to obtain home insurance on some types of non-standard construction types. Not all insurance providers will insure non-standard construction homes, this is because the risk and repairs are less predictable than a traditionally built home. Generally the insurance premiums are higher on these types of properties.

Which non-standard construction types are considered defective?

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) carried out a review of non-standard homes within the 1980s. The condition surveys revealed that certain types are of non-standard construction homes suffered from structural defects. This led to them being defective under the Housing Defects Legislation.

Not all non-standard construction houses are classified as defective under part XVI of the Housing Act 1985. Most types of houses which were classified as defective were are pre-cast concrete construction houses.

Is it harder to sell a non-standard construction home?

Selling a non-standard construction home is generally harder and takes longer than a traditionally built property. There is a lot of stigma attached to non-standard construction and may buyer will avoid this type of property. Buyers maybe put off by the potential repairs, insurance premiums and future saleability.

At Treadstone Surveying we have experience at identifying non-standard construction homes and providing advice on condition and future saleability.