Non Traditional Housing

Background

This includes system built concrete, timber/asbestos and steel frame houses. Many were built in the post war period (1947-1956) but there are examples from the very early part of the twentieth century right through to the present day.

Early prefabricated houses

Many of these were of timber frame construction with asbestos and/or cement and straw boards. There are still examples in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. Some have had external brick skins added and this can make identification very difficult. Many of these early examples were single storey. These property types are unlikely to be mortgageable.

There are, of course, period and modern timber frame properties which are perfectly mortgageable.

Steel Frame houses

There are examples of steel frame houses from the early 1920's right through to the late 1960's (and some new houses are built around a steel skeleton). The early examples (Dorlonco and BISF houses etc.) do have some inherent issues but later examples (Trusteel etc.) are generally mortgageable.

PRC Houses

These are, essentially of concrete construction. The properties were designed to be constructed quickly in factories built for wartime production. There were a significant shortage of homes as a consequence of bombing and inactivity in house building during the war years. There are a very large number of PRC house types. Distinguishing between them can be very difficult, even for a trained surveyor! Some of the more common types in East Anglia include Wates, Airey and Unity.

Many of these PRC houses have been designated as 'defective dwellings' (see on).

There are some concrete houses which are mortgeable. These are generally large panel systems or post 1945 'shot-concrete' construction types.

Defective Dwellings

Following a serious fire in a PRC (Airey) house type, structural defects were identified and concerns grew that similarly constructed properties might also be affected. As a consequence, in 1980's, the Building Research Establishment was set up to investigate all PRC houses. Subsequently, a large number of PRC property types were 'Designated Defective'.

Many of the PRC homes designated as defective were Local Authority owned but some had been sold under council 'right to buy' schemes. Grant funding was quickly put in place to repair PRC property both in public and private ownership. These grants are no longer available to the public.

An unrepaired PRC home is unlikely to be mortgeable through normal lending sources.

Conclusions

Not all prefabricated property is necessarily unmortgageable or defective. It depends very much on the type of construction and whether a scheme of repair has been effected. It is not always obvious to the lay person that a property is prefabricated or whether is may be classed as a 'defective dwelling'. All the more reason to have a survey.

And the Future...

Prefabrication has not gone away. Timber 'kit' houses can still be purchased and are very popular with self-builders and steel often forms the loadbearing element of new property. Prefabricated structures are very popular in many European countries and the trend will, to some extent, be reflected in England in the future.

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