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As far as egress goes: window sills not over 44" above finished floor, (and I imagine the same for grade above window well, or ladder/steps required intruding no more than 6" into required window well area) minimum 5.7 s.f. clear opening of the operable part of the window not less than 20" in width or 24" in height. Window well minimum 36" deep and wide and nine s.f. clear area.
Must have a closet and be at least 70 s.f. with no dimension less than 7'-0".
Well, we are referring to Colorado Springs where the right-wing crazies rule.
Let freedom ring!
Completely uncalled for and irrelevant to the question. It all depends on when the house was built. The egress window didn't become standard until relatively recently (by building history).
What are they going to sue for? They saw they house, knew the bedrooms were in the basement and had it inspected. The laws for bedrooms are different in every state.
Most cities use the UBC (Uniform Building Code) for home construction, remodeling, etc. Go to the UBC on the Internet and find what requirements are for bedroom in basements.
A good clue, is the appraisal. Did they appraise those rooms as bedrooms, or for other use?
As far as egress goes: window sills not over 44" above finished floor, (and I imagine the same for grade above window well, or ladder/steps required intruding no more than 6" into required window well area) minimum 5.7 s.f. clear opening of the operable part of the window not less than 20" in width or 24" in height. Window well minimum 36" deep and wide and nine s.f. clear area.
Must have a closet and be at least 70 s.f. with no dimension less than 7'-0".
The closet "requirement" is often repeated but rarely an actual requirement by law.
And some issues are grandfathered in on existing houses, but in the case of remodeling like that, it wouldn't necessarily be grandfathered.
Just because the rooms could be built and "billed" as bedrooms 50 years ago doesn't mean they'd qualify and could be sold as such now, obviously. That should have been noted by both the realtor and the inspector.
Why does it matter? You visit a house, you either see it as acceptable for your needs at a price you are willing to pay, or not. Am I missing something here? If I want to use my living room or walk-in closet as a bedroom, I can.
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I would think building and fire codes prevail over any brand of crazy.
