When your house classified as non-standard construction in Ireland?

A house can be classified as a non-standard construction by various parameters. Non-standard construction does not only mean about the design and the materials used for construction. 

Any house that deviates from standard building procedures which might be in the form of design, construction material, place of construction, can be called as a non-standard construction in Ireland.

Evaluation for home insurance is done using various parameters. When a person applies for his house insurance Ireland the classification is done under two categories, one is standard construction and the second category is non-standard construction. The House Insurance companies have their own rules to classify a house as non-standard construction house.

Some of the parameters used in Ireland to categorize a house as a non-standard and standard construction are:

1.  Type of construction

When a house has a non-traditional material for flooring or wall can classify the house as a non-standard construction. If the floor has a wooden material it is deemed to be non-standard construction as it does not have standard concrete flooring. The non-standard construction process is considered as a risky proposal by the authorities. Flat roofs lead to water clogging and water seepage after some time and this type of construction should be avoided.

2.  Type of material

Many materials used for construction today are considered as non-conventional materials by standard company rules. When a house is built using construction materials like grass, wood, metal sheets, steel frames, and pre-fabricated materials, which are considered as non-standard construction materials, then the constructed house is considered to be a non-standard house. Use of non-standard material increases the risk and maintenance of your house and so the home insurance Ireland company might like to charge you more for the risk.

3.  Type of house

If any part of your house is used for commercial purpose, for an office or shop, other than for domestic purpose then your house can be considered as a non-standard construction under the Ireland law. As per the law, a house can only be used for the purpose of it’s built and not for any other profitable ventures.

4.  Place of construction

If your house is constructed away from the natural habitat without any easy accessibility or in hilly terrain or outside the police limits then it can fall under non-standard construction. As these are prone to natural calamities or fire or may fall easy prey to thieves, these houses are vulnerable to damages than the houses constructed inside the city limits. Place of construction plays a very big role in categorizing a house.

5. Deviation from the approved plan

When you change the design of your house from the approved plan of the local authority then it might fall under non-standard construction and might affect the Insurance criteria of your house. 

The Home Insurance Company might charge you some extra premium for the non-standard category.

6. Purpose of the house

If your house is going to be used for a traditional family living then the authorities have no issues. But, if your house is not occupied for more than 40 days then it might fall under a holiday-home category and might not be treated as a traditional home.

A non-standard house as per authorities has no structural stability as it is built for only as a designer house. Standard materials should be used during any part of constructing a house to safeguard its structure. Houses that use non-standard materials are considered as defective by authorities and this type of houses are very difficult for insurance, mortgage or sell.

The risk involved in building a non-standard construction house is high and if you need a standard construction always contact the authorities for any clarification during every stage of constructing your dream house.

Frederick