Planning query

jlsmith_2

Hello folks,

I wonder if anyone can help with an enquiry.

Some relatives of mine are selling their house and have run into a problem.

They had their house extended twice - once around 1986 and again in the mid-nineties. Naturally they had appropriate planning for both extensions and the building works were completed in line with the permissions granted.

Now they have come to sell they have found they have misplaced the original planning permission letters. They then asked the local planning authority for copies / confirmation of the original permission as they thought having these to hand would facilitate the sale process

However the council has written back to them saying they will not release the permissions until rectification works are carried out, including changing the direction of a fan outlet for the downstairs loo and replacing some of the windows because they don't open far enough. Overall the cost of works could be £3,000 - £5,000. I haven't seen the detail of the letter so am not sure on what authority the council claims to be demanding these works.

This seems bizzare to me. The house is in good overall condition.

My questions are:

1) Is there any legal obligation to update a house to the standards of the latest building regs prior to selling it? This seems impossible. The housing market would grind to a halt!

2) Can a council refuse to release documents which are, in principle, a matter of public record, or impose draconian conditions on doing so?

I would appreciate thoughts on the above, or any other angle which you think should be covered.

Thanks

Mrs_Z

Just a thought - have you tried checking if you can get copies of the documents online? We are in the process of buying and the house we're hoping to buy has had an extension built. We were able to download copies of the documents straight from the Council's website.

jlsmith_2

Yes, we have thanks, but unfortunately the permissions were granted too long ago. The online records for that area only go back to 2000.

G_M

Seems strange.

The issues raised by the council seem to relate to Building Regulations.

This is very different to Planning Permission.

Are either you or the council confused? Talking at crossed purposes? Or is the council blackmailing you by insisting you rectify BR issues before releasing PP confirmation......?

Doozergirl

Planning Permission is separate from building control. The planning permission decision notices should be available to you.

It seems though that the quality of the build was not signed off by Building Control and there were final items outstanding that weren't completed and therefore a Completion Certificate was not issued. Can they ask you to make items not signed off then comply with rules now? It sounds, if they are, that they're not applying that to everything, perhaps just the items that weren't ticked as completed on the inspector's notes.

Ivana_Tinkle

Might be worth looking into the Data Protection Act. IIRC, if you send them £10, companies are obliged to send you back all the info they hold about you. Don't know if it would apply in this case, but it might be worth a go.

G_M

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

Might be worth looking into the Data Protection Act. IIRC, if you send them £10, companies are obliged to send you back all the info they hold about you. Don't know if it would apply in this case, but it might be worth a go.

???? OP wants info about the house, not themself!

Doozergirl

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

Might be worth looking into the Data Protection Act. IIRC, if you send them £10, companies are obliged to send you back all the info they hold about you. Don't know if it would apply in this case, but it might be worth a go.

All of this information is in the public domain and readily available by asking.

The OP's parents did not get sign off on the building work. There is no building control completion certificate, therefore they can't issue a copy!

LittleMax

As other posters have said I think they are confusing planning consent and building regs. It sounds as though the work they had done was within permitted development and only required building regs, and that they don't have a certificate because it never was all signed off. But that is all assumption. When the survey and searches are carried out, this should show up so they need to decide whether to get the work done or knock some money off. As a buyer I would not be put off by window lights and a fan in the wrong place, but I would use it as leverage to negotiate a discount. Other buyers may run a mile. As a seller I would get the work done and get the building regs signed off before any searches.

PaulCooper

Just a though here, I agree with all the comments on Building Regs sign off. We've just had some windows modified so that they open 90 degrees (fire escape route), it cost £45 per window, man came round with different hinges & did it in 10 mins per window. The extractor thing can't be a big deal either. You really should get Building Regs signed off & it won't cost much

Paul

jlsmith_2

Thanks for the replies folks. I need to ask some further questions to check what has been requested with the relatives as my understanding is that everything that needed to be signed off was signed off at the time. Will come back and update later.