Planning question

richwesthorpe

Hello, We are nearing exchange of contracts on a house we are buying , but we have a planning issue. There is a 40 cubic metre extension at the rear of the property which was built in 1998, (the house was built in 1936). We have building regulations and completion certificates for it but no planning permission can be found. Just wondering if anyone thinks this could be an issue. I am under the impression that you can build an extension of less than 50 cubic metres without planning permission, also wat is the time scale when planning permission is no longer relevant. Thanks in advance. rich and michelle

Doozergirl

It's usually 4 years for planning permission, so you will be safe.

But to avoid the indemnity policy issue which many solicitors request, you might need to show that either you didn't need planning permission, or that the council will not persue the matter.

It might be that the extension isn't even big enough to need planning permission; most people will be able to extend by up to an extra 15% of the house size. 40 cubic metres or 40 square metres? It's the area that is important, not the volume.

you could roughly measure the outside length and width of your house, calculate the area, mulitply it by two (assuming it's two storeys ) and then see how the area of your extension works out as a percentage.

Post back with the sizes if you can't work it out.