Fairfax County - can someone (not renter, family member) sleep in a bedroom without egress window?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pretty certain no one regulates where in your house you can sleep. The county does not police these things. You can sleep wherever you like. People all over the County sleep in bedrooms with no egress and are grandfathered in under the old law (which did not require egress windows). However, if you make changes to the basement, then you are required to bring the space up to code (and install an egress window). In other words, there is no law that says your MIL can't sleep in your basement without an egress window. However, if you renovate the basement and don't install an egress window, you will be in violation and can be fined and/or prevented from selling your house.

If there is a fire and someone gets hurt or injured you will have insurance problems at a minimum. It is also criminal.

Doubt it. The guests assumed the risks.

OP - this would only be an issue if you were renting it out.

the guest does not assume the risk. This would be solely in the homeowners and insurance would be the least of their concerns.

What would be the concern if not insurance (as in, no one suing)? I can't believe there is any criminal repercussion because I have never heard of anyone being charged with anything when they let someone sleep in a bedroom without windows or egress window in the case of basements. I know people who even turned their walk in closets into nursery.

If there is a fire and someone dies because you have an illegal bedroom in use, insurance will indeed be the least of your concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Radon gas is probably a bigger worry.

Yes, family can live in the basement. However it is not safe if there is a fire.

PP. Radon gas is nothing. What about asbestos? Or mold? Or carbon monoxide. Or underground termites. Or camelback crickets. Or off-gassing from carpeting. Or water seeping out of the sump pump.

Asbestos: is the potential exposure in the basement different than the one in the rest of the house?

Mold: Basement is being tested for mold (and radon too btw);

Carbon Monoxide - there is a detector

Off-gassing carpeting: how is it different in the basement vs main floor? Also, how long does the off gassing last?

The rest - people deal with problems as they arise. I am sure anyone would want to fix a termite problem or flooding as soon as found out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am pretty certain no one regulates where in your house you can sleep. The county does not police these things. You can sleep wherever you like. People all over the County sleep in bedrooms with no egress and are grandfathered in under the old law (which did not require egress windows). However, if you make changes to the basement, then you are required to bring the space up to code (and install an egress window). In other words, there is no law that says your MIL can't sleep in your basement without an egress window. However, if you renovate the basement and don't install an egress window, you will be in violation and can be fined and/or prevented from selling your house.

If there is a fire and someone gets hurt or injured you will have insurance problems at a minimum. It is also criminal.

You are not required to make major structural changes to your house just because the code has changed over the course of 50 years. If it was code compliant at the time, its fine now.

[Anonymous]

This whole discussion is insane. There is nothing illegal about the bedroom. It does not meet current building standards for new buildings. It may not be ideal under the current standards, but until OP starts renovating the basement, she is totally within the law. She should not have any insurance issues. (I renovated a basement in my last house. The house was building in the 90s, before the building code changed. We passed pre-sale inspection just fine with the lack of egress window. However, the minute we put up drywall in the small unfinished area, we were required to comply with the new code and install an egress window).

Honestly, what are the odds of there being a fire in the house? I am not really concerned about the MIL's safety. I think it is all going to be fine.

[Anonymous]

Of course. It jsut can't be called a bedroom for legal purposes. Now if there's a fire, well that's on you.

Signed,
Someone with a relative who died in a fire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole discussion is insane. There is nothing illegal about the bedroom. It does not meet current building standards for new buildings. It may not be ideal under the current standards, but until OP starts renovating the basement, she is totally within the law. She should not have any insurance issues. (I renovated a basement in my last house. The house was building in the 90s, before the building code changed. We passed pre-sale inspection just fine with the lack of egress window. However, the minute we put up drywall in the small unfinished area, we were required to comply with the new code and install an egress window).

Honestly, what are the odds of there being a fire in the house? I am not really concerned about the MIL's safety. I think it is all going to be fine.

It doesn't really matter what the odds are of having a fire. If a fire happens and someone is sleeping in a basement without egress, it will be very, very difficult to escape. To me, safety is the most important thing. I would never be able to forgive myself if I had placed someone else in a dangerous situation.