Is loft habitable with dropdown staircase?

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22 Jan 2017
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London, England
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Hi,
I have victorian terrace house that's converted into 2 flats, and I'm looking to sell the top flat.

I have concerns about the upstairs flat due to it's potential size. It's only 45m2 and the Kitchen has been moved into the upstairs front room, creating an open plan Kitchen/Livingroom. The original kitchen was converted into a second bedroom.

The plan is to insulate and board out the loft, installing Vellux windows and spotlights, potentially creating some additional habitable space. The loft will add an additional 16m2. However, as a substantial amount of space will be in the eaves, only an additional 8m2 will be usable. So total usable space in the flat will be 53m2.

My question is, does the staircase up to the loft need to be fixed or will a sturdy dropdown staircase suffice? I'm concerned that, once a buyer is found, their surveyor will say that the loft space isn't habitable, as access to it is restricted by the dropdown staircase. Therefore, to maximise the valuation, a fixed staircase will need to be installed. Is this the case?

Any assistance in this matter would be appreciated.
 
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And approved by Building Control so all done above board or else when sell it the agents won't be able to market it as habitable space.
 

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