Bedroom without a window

Kico99 · 2021-03-12T09:18:57+00:00

Hello! Does anyone have any advice on purchasing a 1 bed apartment where the bedroom doesn’t have a window? It meets fire regs as there is only the requirement for a room to have either a window or open directly onto a hall leading to an entrance/ exit – it does the latter. I’m ok with sleeping in a bedroom with no window but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sell it going forward if I bought it ... plus the seller is asking for £50k more than she bought it 6yrs without adding much to it all. I didn’t think 1 bed flats increase in price very much or at all to be honest and especially one with the bedroom not having a window ... Help! Thanks 🙏🏽

Northernsoullover · 12/03/2021 09:20

I wouldn't buy one. It would be like a cell.

Mamette · 12/03/2021 09:27

I thought a bedroom needed two points of egress, so usually a door and a window? Or does this room have two doors?

Presumably if it’s just one door and there was a fire outside that door you’d be stuffed?

Does the room get no natural light at all? How is it ventilated?

In any case it would be a no from me because I can’t sleep without a window open and yes, I would worry about selling.

3JsMa · 12/03/2021 09:29

No,never.
It's not a bedroom,it is a storage IMO without a window or any other light /air source.It sounds like a studio with ample storage that someone is hoping to sell as 1 bed.

FTEngineerM · 12/03/2021 09:29

Sounds very claustrophobic at the least.

Grimbelina · 12/03/2021 09:30

That sounds pretty miserable - is it really a studio and someone has put a partition wall up? I expect that would be very hard to ever sell on, especially if the market goes down.

Hmmph · 12/03/2021 09:30

I quite like the thought of a bedroom without a window as it would be properly dark when you closed the door.

However, the fear of a fire and being trapped would outweigh this I’m afraid. I am very surprised you say it’s legal.

OneRingToRuleThemAll · 12/03/2021 09:30

My teenage DD would love it, she hates opening the curtains. But in reality, no. Even if it is legal it will be like relaxing in a cupboard. So dark and gloomy.

JemimaTiggywinkle · 12/03/2021 09:31

I definitely wouldn’t, I like to sleep with the window open and I like to air the room.

titchy · 12/03/2021 09:33

No. It's not a 1 bed flat it's a studio with a bed in a cupboard.

FiveShelties · 12/03/2021 09:33

The only advice I have is ---- don't buy it, I would think it would be tough to on sell. Has it been on the market for long?

ComtesseDeSpair · 12/03/2021 09:34

Well, obviously one-bed flats increase in value or else they’d all cost the same as they did 40 years ago! Whether £50k in six years is reasonable depends on the area and what other one-bed flats there have sold for recently: check the Land Registry.

When it comes to sell, it will have a more limited potential market but there will be people who consider it for exactly the same reasons its current owner did and you are now, whether that be price or location or whatever. If it’s proportionately cheaper than one-bed flats with a window, it will have a market.

jillandhersprite · 12/03/2021 09:34

I would steer well clear.
Good advice when buying is to look at it from the point of view of selling it - not whether you can live with it.
I think even if it had a significant discount compared to a similar size, same area, etc flat where the bedroom had a window it would still be difficult to sell. So I wouldn't go anywhere near it...

Bluntness100 · 12/03/2021 09:35

Depending on the starting price fifty k coild be a small increase in six years. However I’d also not want a bedroom with a window, but the over all price should reflect the desirability. So for example it should cost slightly less than a property that’s the same but with a window.

minniemoll · 12/03/2021 09:35

I stayed in a holiday apartment in Alnwick which had an internal bedroom. There was a window onto the communal corridor, but it didn't open. There were a couple of vents, but they were nothing like an open window, as they only opened into other internal areas. It was horrendous to sleep in, stuffy and airless - I'd never do it again.

Stompergirl · 12/03/2021 09:35

No. I think it would be very hard to sell. Plus even though I like it dark to sleep, I still need to be able to ventilate it well. I’d be worried too that it may be too hot in the summer/ stuffy. And finally even though I like it dark, even with blinds and curtains there is a small amount of natural light which helps with your body’s natural sleeping patterns.

Palavah · 12/03/2021 09:37

I wouldn't

PregnantGotCovid · 12/03/2021 09:38

I really wouldn't. Sounds claustrophobic.

ImpossibleDecisions · 12/03/2021 09:39

I’m curious about the layout. Have they just put a bed in the entrance lobby?

Could you use that area for storage/coats etc, and have the bed in the living room?

Original poster

Kico99 · 12/03/2021 09:41

Thanks all, there is a ventilation system built in throughout the flat so to circulate air. The bedroom door is a fire door which leads to a corridor where the entrance is and also another fire door for the living room. I’ve attached a picture :) ... the kitchen/reception is flooded with natural light as it has a glass roof ... I also thought it would be counted as a studio but because of the living room having a door so it’s officially cordoned off it’s classified as a 1 -bed... 🤷🏽‍♀️

OP posts:

LuubyLuu · 12/03/2021 09:44

My sister tried to buy a one-bedder where the bedroom had no window and she was refused a mortgage. This was some time ago but worth checking if you're keen.
She was really disappointed - she was a policewoman and working shifts, so a lovely big sunny living room and a bedroom capable of being very quiet and very dark would have been perfect for her!

WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants · 12/03/2021 09:45

@titchy

No. It's not a 1 bed flat it's a studio with a bed in a cupboard.

I think your post is quite rude, but I can't disagree with your comment and it made me laugh!

@Kico99.

Personally I'd hate it & wouldn't even look at the flat, I think selling it might be difficult, BUT you are looking at buying it, so I guess someone will buy it from you if the price is right!

Why are you considering it? Is it the only one you can afford? Or does it offer something that others in the same price don't?

The bathroom here is internal (no external walls) one of the first things I had done was put in a skylight. (Obviously that's not an
Option if it's in a block of flats ). But just to say, a window is a deal breaker for many. I wouldn't have bought this place if I couldn't have done that.

Palavah · 12/03/2021 09:47

@Kico99

Thanks all, there is a ventilation system built in throughout the flat so to circulate air. The bedroom door is a fire door which leads to a corridor where the entrance is and also another fire door for the living room. I’ve attached a picture :) ... the kitchen/reception is flooded with natural light as it has a glass roof ... I also thought it would be counted as a studio but because of the living room having a door so it’s officially cordoned off it’s classified as a 1 -bed... 🤷🏽‍♀️

What's preventing a window being added to the bedroom?

Kfdbhydcjrsx · 12/03/2021 09:51

@Kico99

Thanks all, there is a ventilation system built in throughout the flat so to circulate air. The bedroom door is a fire door which leads to a corridor where the entrance is and also another fire door for the living room. I’ve attached a picture :) ... the kitchen/reception is flooded with natural light as it has a glass roof ... I also thought it would be counted as a studio but because of the living room having a door so it’s officially cordoned off it’s classified as a 1 -bed... 🤷🏽‍♀️

Ok and if the fire is on the other side of that fire door how do you escape?

WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants · 12/03/2021 09:52

Sorry, posted that before seeing your last post.

What's above the bedroom? Could you put a skylight in?

Is there only one openable window in the living area?

And it's not a cupboard in a studio as it's not 'cut out' of the lounge area.

mumwon · 12/03/2021 09:53

venting systems - is it a big block of flats & is it a central venting system? ie not under your control & communal with other flats - because you will have no control over when or whether they service this - & some of these electric venting systems in some flats are not serviced as much as you would expect - (they can reek)
& what happens if you have a really hot summer?