conservatory planning question

spectre

Quick questions regarding a house prurchase we are going to make.
There is a conservatory which from what i can see from the councils planning permission web site did not get approval , well doesnt appear to be listed at all.

Should it show on the website ?
Does it need permission?
What if i hasnt and i move in am i then liable ?
will i be forced to take it down?

Thankyou

david29dpo

Most dont need planning, depends on size, height and area.

MenstrieBen

even when planning permission is not needed, depending on the size and type of conservatory a building warrant may often be needed. check this with your councils building control department as this is a seperate process to planning.

also a lot of the online systems will not have all of the historical applications and may only have applications since it was started up - the planning department should be able to help you if youi give them a call and also give definate advice on what could happen

tbs624

If appropriate permissions have not been applied for/granted then your solicitor would ask the vendor to provide an indemnity policy. This covers any potential action from the Council but does not provide cover for there being any problems with the actual construction.

tbs624

david29dpo wrote: »

Most dont need planning, depends on size, height and area.

It also depends on the distance from the property's boundary, from public paths/roads, whether the property is a listed building, whether the property has no permitted development rights...............

googler

Your council may not have all historic applications on the website - mine only has apps going back to year 2000, all those prior are recorded in big ledger books at the council offices.

It may not have required permission at the time it was built, as regulations may have been different then.

You need to consult the council personally if you want to enquire further, by the sounds of it.

Does the property have a HIP or Home Report? If so, the surveyor should have notes about the construction, and the owners possibly noted it in the questionnaire

spectre

thank you to you all for replying, much appreciated.

bob79

If you contact the council, then you can't get indemnity insurance anymore. Talk to your solicitor, not to the council!

I had a similar problem with my purchase. The conservatory was added 8 years ago. Planning enforcement (4 years) has lapsed and building regulation enforcement (1 year) has also lapsed. According to my solicitor, the only enforcement action that the council could now take is on health and safety grounds (and she asked me to check this with my surveyor).

googler

Why would a buyer want indemnity insurance?

Georgie4

david29dpo wrote: »

Most dont need planning, depends on size, height and area.

You can generally extend your house size by 10% without having any permission at all - how long has it been up ? Very unlikely you need permission for a conservatory unless it is huge in relation to the house;)

planning_officer

Georgie4 wrote: »

You can generally extend your house size by 10% without having any permission at all - how long has it been up ? Very unlikely you need permission for a conservatory unless it is huge in relation to the house;)

Not sure where this 10% comes from, as that's not the case at all. The old permitted development regime used volumes, but this was abolished on 1 Oct 2008 (and even then, 10% was not part of the old legislation!). And conservatories can quite easily need planning permission. For a single storey extension (like a conservatory) you can extend up to 4m to the rear if you live in a detached property, or 3m in any other dwelling (except a flat or maisonette). This only applies to the rear of the original dwelling, and not to the rear of any previous extensions. Also, permitted development rights may have been removed, which means any extension would need permission. So, it's not an easy question to answer and it's certainly not the case that a conservatory would have to be "huge" to need planning permission.

But, like others have said, if it did need permission and if it's more than 4 years old, it's immune from enforcement action under the planning legislation.