selling without planning permission for the conservatory

Fire_Fox

misspixie1 wrote: »

Atfer consideration i have decided that it would be sensible to be up front with any buyers so they can make their own decision as to whether to go ahead without the planning permission and we would then obtain an indemnity policy.....i understand that i may lose buyers becuase of this but it would be better than going through the stages and then losing the buyer. can the indemnity insurance be purchased before the four years are up or does that only apply after...also because the conservatory was built by a builder (cash in hand) i did not get a VAT receipt so how would i prove how long it has been up. I am not clear on the four year rule so any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Did you not get a receipt at all???? Was he even a real builder?

SimonMrGreenWard

Honesty is the best policy.

misspixie1

Hi Firefox...yes he was a real builder and has done many re-fitting of windows in the area. He also had a certificate as he works for a large company that do double glazing and conservatories. The issue was he did the job "on the side" so it was cheaper for us!!!! with hindsight in respect of the planning issue this was not the best route for me to take but he did do a fantastic job and we have never had any problems with the work he did for us.

Fire_Fox

misspixie1 wrote: »

Hi Firefox...yes he was a real builder and has done many re-fitting of windows in the area. He also had a certificate as he works for a large company that do double glazing and conservatories. The issue was he did the job "on the side" so it was cheaper for us!!!! with hindsight in respect of the planning issue this was not the best route for me to take but he did do a fantastic job and we have never had any problems with the work he did for us.

You won't know how fantastic the job was until a full structural survey or engineer's report is carried out, and the sale completes. Sorry but I'd question how professional the builder is if he didn't advise you to check with planning and get building regs. Cash in hand also means he is willing to engage in tax evasion.

neha1986

Hi,
you would require planning process.take advice of people.

kmmr

Are you in a conservation area?

I had heaps of conservatory people say 'oh, if it is x high, or y% of the house, then you don't need planning'. They didn't give any more than that, and only elaborated when I specifically asked if that applied to listed buildings, or flats... etc.

In Waltham forest I know there are no permitted development rights for extensions for flats. Not checked anywhere else, but know them!

Fire_Fox

kmmr wrote: »

Are you in a conservation area?

I had heaps of conservatory people say 'oh, if it is x high, or y% of the house, then you don't need planning'. They didn't give any more than that, and only elaborated when I specifically asked if that applied to listed buildings, or flats... etc.

In Waltham forest I know there are no permitted development rights for extensions for flats. Not checked anywhere else, but know them!

You'd need the written consent of the freeholder to build onto a leasehold flat as the structure of the property does not belong to you.

Richard_Webster

Richard..Thank you very much for your response, it has been helpful. I would not imagine there were any issues surrounding being built in breach of condition or there being a condition requiring express planning permission for any extension notwithstanding the "permitted development rights" in the original planning permission for the construction of the house as this house is an ex-local authority house constructed around 1955.

So hopefully if am upfront with buyers and they are happy for me to purchase the indemnity then i am assuming a sale could go ahead. I was worried that solicitors alert the Council to the non-existant planning permission so would be grateful if you could confirm whether this would be the case. Thank you.

Obviously it may be worth checking the planning permission but it is very very likely that there were hardly any conditions on the 1950s deemed planing consent the Council gave themselves.

Your problem is the fear factor that a buyer may actually think that the Council will arrive with the heavies and cause them trouble whereas if they keep their heads down and don't give the neighbours a pretext to find something to hit them with the Council planning department probably won't even know about it.

(I used to work for an LA and in odd cases like this we have had neighbours with a grudge complaining about something that was a technical infringement but which was just not worth faffing with. Council then had to go through some motions to shut neighbour up - usually suggesting the owner applied for planning permission which they would grant and explain to the neighbour that they could not reasonably refuse to give a permission. If the owner didn't apply for planning permission it would then depend on whether the neighbour kicked up again as to whether the Council bothered to pursue it. )

Hailstorm

I bought a house last year with a conservatory that didn't have planning permission. The fact it required it was picked up in my survey. It noted that the conservatory extended more than 3 metres from the original property (a semi detached house) and therefore would require planning permission.

When my solicitor enquired about planning permission it transpired it didn't have it but it was only a month short of being 4 years old. My solicitor suggested that by the time I would be in a position to exchange the conservatory would be 4 years old so there wasn't any point asking for indemnity policies or retrospective planning permission.

The other thing the OP should check is if their property is covered by an restrictive covenants. The house I bought was covered by one preventing any building work in the garden without permission from the developer. It wasn't obtained but when my solicitor asked about it the vendors did go and get retrospective consent.

I would add that I would have been happy to have bought the house with indemnity policies for both the lack of planning permission and breach of coventant had they been necessary.

Running_Horse

misspixie1 wrote: »

we have been told by a solicitor that i should just keep quiet and it would be highly unlikely to be questioned as it is a conservatory and not a brick built extension

First the builder and now a solicitor. Do you believe everything you are told? Take my word for it that it is highly likely to be questioned.

You need to stop being so trusting of people who are looking out for themselves and lining their own pockets, and find out the true position before forking out lots of money on dubious things.