Selling a non-standard construction house

You can sell a non-standard construction house, but how easily depends on what it's built from and whether any known defects have been repaired. The hardest are the prefabricated reinforced concrete (PRC) houses that the law designates as defective: unless they've been repaired with paperwork to prove it, most mainstream lenders won't lend on them. Many other non-standard homes can be mortgaged, but lenders set their own rules, so the pool of buyers is often smaller.

This guide explains the main types, designated defective housing, repair certificates, how lenders see these homes, and your options for selling in England and Wales.

What counts as non-standard construction?

"Standard" construction usually means solid brick or stone walls, or two layers of brick or block with a gap between them, under a pitched roof of tiles or slate. Anything else is usually called non-standard or non-traditional. The main families are:

Type	What it is
Prefabricated reinforced concrete (PRC)	Concrete posts or panels made in a factory and fixed together on site
Cast concrete	Concrete poured on site into moulds to form the walls
Steel frame	A steel skeleton clad in render, sheeting or brick
Timber frame	A wooden structural frame, clad in brick, render or boarding
Other	Some flat-roofed homes and some modern factory-built homes

Many non-standard homes were built quickly after the Second World War, often for councils, and many have since been sold to their tenants. Some have aged well, others less so.

How to find out what your house is built from

• Check your paperwork. Your purchase documents, survey or title deeds may say. If you bought from the council under Right to Buy, the council may have records of the house type.
• Ask a surveyor. A surveyor can usually identify the system by inspecting the house.
• Look at similar houses nearby. Houses on the same estate were often built the same way, so neighbours or the council may already know the type.

Designated defective houses

In the early 1980s, some types of PRC house were found to have serious structural defects in their concrete. The Housing Defects Act 1984, now Part XVI of the Housing Act 1985, lets the government (or a council, locally) designate a type of house as defective where the defect has become widely known and has substantially reduced values.

The national designations cover around two dozen PRC types. Those named in a 1988 order setting the repair grant limits include:

Airey, Boot, Boswell, Cornish Unit, Dorran, Dyke, Gregory, Myton, Newland, Orlit, Parkinson, Reema Hollow Panel, Schindler and Hawksley SGS, Smith, Stent, Stonecrete, Tarran, Underdown, Unity and Butterley, Waller, Wates, Wessex, Winget and Woolaway.

Not every concrete house is designated. A council housing report from 2018 notes, for example, that one Reema type (Reema Hollow Panel) is designated while another (Reema Conclad) isn't. A surveyor can tell you which you have.

Help for owners

Part XVI set up a scheme for people who bought a designated house from a public body, such as a council under Right to Buy, before the cut-off date set in the designation. Depending on the house, the council could either:

• pay a reinstatement grant towards the repairs, normally covering 90% of the qualifying costs, or all of them in cases of financial hardship, where the repaired house would be mortgageable and last at least 30 years, or
• buy the house back, where it wasn't reasonable to expect the owner to wait for or arrange the work.

Each designation set a period for applying, and the government can extend it. The schemes date from the 1980s, so if you think you might still qualify, ask your council directly.

Repaired or not: why the paperwork matters

Many designated PRC houses were repaired under licensed repair schemes, usually by taking out the concrete structure of the outside walls and replacing it with conventional brick or block. When this was done properly, the house should have paperwork confirming it, often called a PRC certificate or repair certificate.

That paperwork is what buyers' lenders and surveyors look for. A 2018 council report on its own non-traditional homes notes that houses may not be acceptable for mortgage purposes if the repair wasn't completed to a licensed standard. Some houses had only partial repairs, or were improved in other ways (for example with external wall insulation) that didn't remove the original concrete, and those are generally harder to mortgage.

If you can't find your certificate, ask the council, your solicitor, and whoever did the work. Semi-detached and terraced houses can be more complicated where a neighbour's half hasn't been repaired.

How lenders treat non-standard homes

There's no single rule. Each lender decides what it will accept, and attitudes vary. The same 2018 council report puts it plainly: in theory any type that isn't designated defective should be mortgageable, but in practice lenders have tended to be cautious with non-traditional types generally.

House	What buyers' lenders are likely to think
Designated PRC, not repaired	Generally unmortgageable with mainstream lenders
Designated PRC, repaired with a certificate	Often mortgageable, though not with every lender
Non-designated concrete, steel or timber frame	Varies by lender, type, age and condition

Buyers can improve their chances by using a mortgage broker who knows which lenders accept which systems. Insurers ask about construction too, so make sure your own buildings insurance describes the house accurately.

What to tell buyers

Be upfront with your estate agent about the construction type, so it's in the listing and buyers' surveyors aren't surprised. Your solicitor will ask you to complete the Law Society's TA6 property information form, and the buyer's solicitor will usually ask about construction and any repairs. Answer honestly and hand over any repair certificates and reports.

Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967, a buyer who relied on a false answer may be able to claim compensation from you after the sale. If you're not sure what your house is built from, say so and suggest the buyer gets a survey, rather than guessing.

Your options for selling

Route	Price	Speed	Good for
Estate agent	Usually the highest, where buyers can get mortgages	Often several months	Repaired PRC with paperwork, and most timber and steel frame homes
Auction	Attracts cash buyers who know these homes; fees and no certain price	Weeks once listed	Unrepaired designated types
Cash buying company	Usually below market value	Can complete in weeks	Homes few lenders will touch, or sellers who need certainty

When an estate agent is likely to be better: if your house is repaired with a certificate, or is a type most lenders accept, the open market usually gets you more. Choose an agent who has sold similar homes on your estate.

When auction or a cash sale makes sense: if your house is an unrepaired designated type, most of your buyers will be paying cash whichever route you choose. Auction can bring competition. A cash buyer gives you a fixed price and timescale, but usually below market value, so it doesn't suit someone with a mortgageable house who can wait for the open market.

We buy homes as they are, including non-standard construction, and make an offer within 24 hours. We pay your legal fees and you choose the completion date. Our offer is below market value, we explain how we worked it out from recent sales nearby, and there's no obligation to accept. Read what a cash house buyer is first.

A checklist for selling a non-standard home

• The construction type confirmed, by a surveyor if you're unsure
• Whether it's a designated defective type checked
• Any PRC repair certificate, reports and council records found
• Your buildings insurance checked to make sure it describes the house correctly
• Sold prices for similar homes on your estate checked (see how to get a house valuation)
• An agent who knows the house type, if you're selling on the open market
• TA6 answered honestly, with repair paperwork handed to your solicitor

If the house also needs repairs, our guide to selling a house that needs work helps you decide between doing the work and selling as it is, and selling a house at auction explains how auctions work.