Trickle vents - what happens if I don't have them?

[Gossamer]

Evening,
I'm buying upvc sash and flush casement windows and fitting them myself.
I understand trickle vents are now mandatory for Building Control.
There are currently none in the existing windows.
In practice what happens if I don't get them and then sell my house in a few years (no plans currently)?
What happens in reality?
When I purchased the house in 2015 I honestly didn't give a monkeys about this sort of thing.
Thanks.

 

[Notch7]

If you are fitting them yourself, you can’t self certificate like a FENSA or Certas registered company can.

And your only route is to pay the local authority to do an inspection and get the b/regs certificate…..but yours won’t be compliant so you won’t get the certificate.

When you sell, the lack of certificate will get picked up and you will need to sort that out….possibly with an indemnity, but you can’t get that if you had an inspection by LA….

 

[crank39]

As well as that you could suffocate!

 

[Murdochcat]

Mould and damp

 

[foxhole]

Is property listed or in conservation area, some property is exempted.

 

[Gossamer]

Not in a conservation area or listed….

 

[jj4091]

"When I purchased the house in 2015 I honestly didn't give a monkeys about this sort of thing."



I doubt anyone else will either. In fact I here of people covering them because of draughts.

 

[johnny2007]

I find them convenient for ventilation especially in the downstairs bathroom where I must shut the window when going out.
If you ventilate your property daily as you should, those vents become just decorative.
Any lack of fensa certificate will not stop you selling your house.
I bought mine without any and couldn't give a monkey about it.

 

[Nintendofan]

I understand trickle vents are now mandatory for Building Control.

My new build doesn't have trickle vents so they defiantly are not mandatory.

 

[pcaouolte]

My new build doesn't have trickle vents so they defiantly are not mandatory.

Does your new build have Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery?

 

[crank39]

My new build doesn't have trickle vents so they defiantly are not mandatory.

They are mandatory.

Building Regulations | What is Approved Document F?

The changes to Approved Document F require the majority of replacement windows and doors to be fitted with trickle vents.

www.fensa.org.uk

 

[RandomGrinch]

Or, to list the 'Guidance' from 'Approved Document F'....

Along with the exceptions for listed buildings, or those with mechanical ventilation and heat recovery stated above; as long as it can be demonstrated that the ventilation will be no worse than it was before a new window installation,
then trickle vents are not mandatory.

Mandatory is also a strong word, when all the actual law states is...

How you meet that requirement is up to you, although the closer you stick to the 'Guidance', the easier the journey you have with building control!

 

[richw]

Your biggest problem is that you are self-installing, so cannot get the magic piece of paper from FENSA or CERTAS. So you either explain to a potential purchaser that they are self-fitted, or utter 'I do not know, it was like that when I moved in' to any questions.

 

[crank39]

Be sure your quoting the new June 2022 regs, as I understood it there's no if's, but's or maybe's as there was with the previous ruling

"2022 Regulation Guidance: Existing Homes
Replacement windows should be fitted with trickle vents regardless of whether the windows being replaced had vents in them or not if no background ventilation alternative is being installed.
Habitable rooms and kitchens: 8000mm2 EA. Bathrooms (with or without a toilet): 4000mm2 EA.
Addition of a wet room to an existing building: 5000mm2 EA.
Addition of a habitable room to an existing dwelling (if the existing room has less than 5000mm2 EA): 10,000mm2 EA.
If the existing dwelling has continuous mechanical extract ventilation fitted, then 4000mm2 EA is required in habitable rooms.
If it's not technically feasible to adopt the minimum equivalent areas set out in paragraph 3.15, the background ventilators should have equivalent areas as close to the minimum value as is feasible.

In all cases, there is now an Installation & Commissioning Checklist that needs to be completed and handed over by the installer. This includes background ventilation sign off. This Checklist appears in the Approved Document ‘Part’ F, as opposed to the separate DVCG (Domestic Ventilation Compliance Guide), which has been made obsolete."

 

[Nintendofan]

They are mandatory.

Building Regulations | What is Approved Document F?

The changes to Approved Document F require the majority of replacement windows and doors to be fitted with trickle vents.

www.fensa.org.uk

That document says it's for replacement windows, mine are brand new.