Subsidence, Underpinning and Planning permission for a loft extension

psyclone1976

[FONT=&quot]Hi, we are looking at purchasing a flat (first floor of a house) that had suffered from subsidence. the work to underpin the whole house was completed in Feb 2010, the vendor has a certificate of structural adequacy. The cause of the subsidence was described as 'shrinkage of the soil caused by nearby trees'. The tree in question still remains in place and I’ve yet to find out if this will be removed or just pruned to avoid overgrowth.

We are planning to purchase the property and extend the loft space, would there be any issue with obtaining planning permission on a house that has recently been underpinned?

We know that it take some time to prove that the work is stable and no further movement is likely.

The other issue is that this work might prevent us from getting a sale in teh future if we end up buying the property and then decide to sell.

Any advice on this situation would be welcome. thanks

[/FONT]

FOX_HOUND

psyclone1976 wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]Hi, we are looking at purchasing a flat (first floor of a house) that had suffered from subsidence. the work to underpin the whole house was completed in Feb 2010, the vendor has a certificate of structural adequacy. The cause of the subsidence was described as 'shrinkage of the soil caused by nearby trees'. The tree in question still remains in place and I’ve yet to find out if this will be removed or just pruned to avoid overgrowth.

We are planning to purchase the property and extend the loft space, would there be any issue with obtaining planning permission on a house that has recently been underpinned?

We know that it take some time to prove that the work is stable and no further movement is likely.

The other issue is that this work might prevent us from getting a sale in teh future if we end up buying the property and then decide to sell.

Any advice on this situation would be welcome. thanks

[/FONT]

Yes, it could cause future sale problems. And there will also be insurance issues.

G_M

Who is the frreholder? And who manages the property (freeholder or a management company, or the flat owners [assuming they also own shares of the freehold])?

Does the attic belong to the flat? Probobly not, but check the lease. I imagine you will need the freeholder's agreement to extend the attic. Planning Permission maybe not (depends what you are doing) but you will need Building Regulations consent.

Who insures the building? The freeholder? Mgmt Co? Each flat-owner seperately? After underpinning, many insurers simply won't be interested so you will need specialist (more expensive) insurance. This may already be sorted by the freeholder but you need to check.

Just as you, as a buyer, will need to consider all this, so will any other buyer if you later sell - so yes, some will be put off.

psyclone1976

The freeholder is a company setup and run by all the flat owners, so the freeholds are shared. The attic i part of the sale we have had that confirmed.

The building is insured with a company and the policyholder is the freehold company.