Replacing conservatory windows

[HeadFairy]

I have been left a house by an elderly relative, it's a lovely old Edwardian house but it's in a bit of a state, hasn't been occupied for years etc. Generally it's dry, but there's a conservatory which has lost several panes of glass broken so rain has poured in. My uncle is a carpenter, so he's going to help me restore it, the wooden frames of the conservatory are actually very solid. But my question is do I need to replace the glass in the conservatory with double glazed glass? My uncle says not as it's not a habitable room, ie it's not a living room/bedroom/bathroom etc.

Strictly speaking I think you do. What's the plan for the house? Do you intend to sell it or live in it?

For some issues with windows you can replace with 'like for like or better' rather than having to have everything to current standards, but I'm not sure about this one, I think you do need to check this with Building Control not just us lot online.

If you plan on selling it, I'd be tempted to just get your uncle to fix the glass so water can't get in. It sounds like a doer upper anyway so anyone buying it is likely to have to do a lot of work and you can price accordingly. With regards paperwork I think it's common for the current owner to know little of the history of the house when they've inherited it. You can also purchase an indemnity policy if required.

It depends whether anyone will want to spend more than a couple of days per year in there.