Can I insist on Shower rather than a bath?

Can I insist on Shower rather than a bath?

9:17 AM, 15th July 2021, About 3 years ago 11

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I am buying a 2-bed house off-plan, which specifies that there will be a bath with an overhead shower in the bathroom (there is no en-suite). I plan to rent the house out for a couple of years and then sell another property to enable me to then use this one as my holiday home (with Airbnb at peak seasons to cover costs).

I personally never use a bath, only a shower and now, having just had a hip replacement, I wouldn’t even be able to get into a bath.

I have asked the developers, via the estate agent, to fit a shower rather than a bath, and they have said no. This seems to me to go beyond personal choice and to be an accessibility issue, as it’s not uncommon for people to struggle to get into a bath, especially those who are elderly or disabled.

Does anyone know if developers are under any obligation to provide bathroom fittings that are suitably accessible to all?

I guess I could just buy the house with the bath installed, and then have it taken out and a shower fitted instead, but this seems very wasteful.

Many thanks

Tricia


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Nick Pope

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7:28 AM, 17th July 2021, About 3 years ago

It's up to the developers. They build a product and offer it for sale - it's your choice whether you buy it or not. Let's reverse the situation. If a potential tenant came to you and insisted they needed a bath not a shower would you change it to suit them, particularly in a market where there are other tenants willing to take what's on offer?
Developers today subcontract everything and it's likely that they do a deal with a bathroom supplier/fitter for a specified number of houses at an agreed spec and get a large discount. If they then proceed to request changes the subbie will likely charge a significant sum to action any alteration.

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