Advertisment
The advertisement showcased a house for sale and was seen on a third-party website. The house was labelled as having “3 beds 1 bath” and later described as a “2/3 bedroom” property.
Further text on the webpage stated:
“Upstairs there are 2 generous sized bedrooms, and a third room currently used as a bedroom.”
Complaint
The complainant considered the advertisement misleading on the basis that the third bedroom did not contain a window, but only a small skylight. They said that this was unreachable in case of a fire and said that by misclassifying this room as a bedroom, the value was falsely increased.
Response
The advertisers said that this property was purchased as a three bed by the current owner and that there was a double extension built at the rear of the property. They said that this double extension was added to include an extended kitchen downstairs and a bedroom upstairs. The advertisers said that the original bedroom window upstairs was blocked, and a skylight was installed.
The advertisers referred to the fact that text on the webpage clarified that the property was two bedroom with a third room currently used as a third bedroom. They said that they had since taken down the property.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
In relation to a previous case, the ASA Executive enquired with Dublin City Council’s Planning Department whether there were any definitions or requirements in planning regulations related to bedrooms. The advice received was that a standard bedroom commonly had a number of characteristics. Even if the room was previously used as a bedroom, a bedroom should meet the following 4 criteria:
1. The room must have at least 2 points of egress (i.e. exit). It should be accessible from the house (commonly through a door), and then have one other exit, be that a window or another door to the outside. This may be obvious, but if a room does not have a window, then it cannot be classified as a bedroom.
2. A bedroom ceiling needs to be at least 2.4m tall for the floor area which is above 1.5m high. It is okay if some portions of the ceiling are below this level, but at least 50% of the ceiling needs to be a minimum of 2.4m in height. Ceiling height is not usually an issue, however, if a converted attic is considered as a bedroom, then the 50% coverage at the minimum height is a real factor.
3. A bedroom must have one other method of exit beyond the entrance point. A door to the exterior works as an exit point, and so does a window. According to the current building regulations, fire escape windows must provide:
• An unobstructed opening of at least 0.33 m²
• A minimum opening width of 0.45m
• A minimum opening height of 0.45m
• The lowest part of the window must be between 0.8m – 1.1m from the floor. Note a step under the window can be installed to meet this requirement
• If the bedroom has only a roof light or a small slither of a window, then it cannot be classified as a bedroom.
4. The size of a single bedroom must be a minimum of 2.1m in width and have a minimum floor area of 7.1 m². Note that the minimum floor areas excludes built in storage space.
The Executive also conducted desktop research and noted similar information at https://www.gethousesurvey.ie/post/what-constitutes-a-bedroom. In addition, they noted that the Technical Guidance Document B- Fire Safety – Volume 2 Dwelling Houses(1) stated at subsection 1.3.7.1 General Windows of section 1.3.7 Windows for escape or rescue that “windows may provide an alternative means of escape or may be used for rescue purposes in dwelling houses of limited height. As a general provision, all bedrooms in dwelling houses, other than bedrooms with doors that give direct access to the outside should have at least one window which complies with the provisions herein.
As an alternative, a door which gives direct access to a balcony which is suitable for rescue by ladder or for escape may be used.” Further information detailed the requirements for the windows and other potential exits.
(1) gov.ie – Technical Guidance Document B – Fire Safety – Volume 2 Dwelling Houses (www.gov.ie)
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Independent Complaints Council considered both the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Complaints Council noted the information on the planning requirements for bedrooms. They also noted that the advertised room did not appear to conform to these requirements and in the absence of evidence to demonstrate that the room did conform to the planning requirements, the Council considered the advertising to be misleading and therefore in breach of the Code at sections 4.01, 4.04, 4.09 and 4.10.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The advertisement must not reappear in its current form.
The Council reminded all advertisers to ensure that property advertisements accurately reflected the nature of the rooms involved.
