Extremely worried over old rear extension !

Pee

RLH33 wrote: »

Mags 269 you have had some good advice here so don't worry about it. It really doesn't matter how big the extension is as it is over four years old and is now unenforceable. The reason the owner didn't apply for permission (if it was needed anyway) is probably because he was a builder and thought he would take the risk of the Council finding out!!

Regarding the indemnity policies I am of the view that these are a complete rip off. I think Solicitors do their own bit of scaremongering with regard to extensions without planning permission, i.e. they plant the problem in the buyers mind, and the only advice they offer is to get the seller to take out an indemnity policy. 9 out of 10 times the worry or the policy is completely unnecessary as the extensions either did not require permission in the first place or is over four years old so therefore unenforceable. A quick phone call to the planning office or a chat with the seller would sort this out.

Be very careful if you phone the planning office, as if you give an address, it may mean you can't take out the indemnity insurance, which means the purchasers solicitor / mortgage company may feel they cannot take the - I agree with everyone else, very slight - risk.

RLH33

Pee wrote: »

Be very careful if you phone the planning office, as if you give an address, it may mean you can't take out the indemnity insurance, which means the purchasers solicitor / mortgage company may feel they cannot take the - I agree with everyone else, very slight - risk.

Precisely my point about this indemnity insurance being a complete and utter rip off - if you even dare try to check the need for planning permission with the planning office then you can't take out the insurance. They are just playing on people's fears - they offer you the insurance for £50-100 on condition that you don't ring the Council. However if you did ring the Council you would most likely find out permission wasn't needed - resulting in a lost sale for the insurers.

planning_officer

Mags269 wrote: »

Thanks hethmar, I do see where you are coming from. I was just thinking of people's reaction when they get the plans of the house from the Solicitor, with parts of the property ominously "missing"!

An awful lot of properties will have parts 'missing' if they are permitted development, i.e. not requiring a planning application. Just adding my opinion to those above who say an indemnity policy is really not worth it - (a) it's way beyond enforceable by the Council, and (b) it probably didn't even need permission in the first place!

Mags269

Hi folks I'm back! After having a nice stress-free few months after reading all your kind & helpful threads, my OH has now informed me that he wishes to exend on the back of our extension (only v. small) to make the current room into a bedroom. If we came to sell, would this add value onto the house or because the original ext did not have planning permssion, would it have no effect? I'm now all worried again. I tried to tell him about the question mark over the planning permission on the extension when we bought it, but just answered "well, the solicitor would have told us, wouldn't she?". He was so wound up I didn't have the courage to tell him. Oh dear, can someone PLEASE put my mind at rest?

terry2

It has been many years since we last had an extension done (which was altering previous extensions), but as I recall, what you get is permission to do work so that you have a house that looks like the approved plan.

So after the plan is approved and the work is done you will have a plan matching the house and it is totally legit! So having this work done is a blessing as it will mean your previous worries will have ceased to exist.

Doozergirl

How far from the back of the original house will this new extension protrude? And is the house a terrace, semi or detached?

keith969

Mags269 wrote: »

Thanks hethmar, I do see where you are coming from. I was just thinking of people's reaction when they get the plans of the house from the Solicitor, with parts of the property ominously "missing"!

This is perfectly normal. The land registry plans on my HIP are based on Ordnance Survey data from 1970 and show the property without the extension carried out by the previous but one owners in 1973 or the extension carried out by us in 1993.

The Land Registry 'plans' are really just to give an indication of the boundaries of the property.

Mags269

Hi Terry2 - when you state "get permission to have the work done" - how would I be able to go about that, just bearing in mind that the original ext was built without planning permission?

Mags269

Hi DoozerGirl, no long no speak (lol) What my OH wants to do is to simply add to the existing ext by about 6ft long by about 10ft wide. Our house is detached.

Mags269

Hi Keith969 - thanks, I am now aware of the land registry plans, I was more concerned about the other plans that the Solictors hand over to purchasers, when we bought the house together with the land registery plans (which were very old) there were street plans from the council together with street plans from our water company