Single garage converted to living space - planning permission required?

ellie27

We are in the process of buying a house.

It is a bungalow with a detached single garage. The current owners converted the garage into a granny flat with sink/wc and garage door bricked up and replaced by a window. There is no front door of the granny flat, only entrance to it is the original side door of the garage which is located within our back garden. The size of the garage has not changed, still original flat roof too. They have done various other things to the house, all of which the planning permissions are all online except the garage......

House is in a conservation area.

Is planning permission needed?

Is it a solicitors job to find out for us that planning permission is all there?

How would the solicitor know they had converted the garage and various other parts of the house and therefor know to be looking for planning permission?

I better phone my solicitor!

Is there any way planning permission for this might not have been necessary?

Thanks!

catterlen

ellie27 wrote: »

We are in the process of buying a house.

It is a bungalow with a detached single garage. The current owners converted the garage into a granny flat with sink/wc and garage door bricked up and replaced by a window. There is no front door of the granny flat, only entrance to it is the original side door of the garage which is located within our back garden. The size of the garage has not changed, still original flat roof too. They have done various other things to the house, all of which the planning permissions are all online except the garage......

House is in a conservation area.

Is planning permission needed.


Is it a solicitors job to find out for us that planning permission is all there?

How would the solicitor know they had converted the garage and various other parts of the house and therefor know to be looking for planning permission?


I better phone my solicitor!

Is there any way planning permission for this might not have been necessary?

Thanks!

I am not an expert in this at all, so get professional advice. It is my understanding that you shouldn't usually need planning permission if you aren't actually changing the garage I.e making it lots bigger. You might find they should have building compliance cents though? I am not sure about that one. My parents converted their garage a few years back and had to get some compliance certs for fireproofing I think, and electrics, but not planning permission.

davidmcn

ellie27 wrote: »

Is planning permission needed?

Possibly. The fact it's in a conservation area makes it more likely that any changes to the frontage need consent.

Is it a solicitor's job to find out for us that planning permission is all there?

Generally, yes.

How would the solicitor know they had converted the garage and various other parts of the house and therefor know to be looking for planning permission?

Because you've told them. Or it'll be highlighted by your surveyor (or the Home Report if you're buying in Scotland). Or it'll be obvious from the estate agents' schedule.

Will almost certainly also have required building regulations consent.

anselld

Permission if generally required for any external alterations to the front in a conservation area.

Annie1960

In a conservation area it is likely that any permitted development rights have been removed, so planning consent will be required. Your surveyor should have picked this up on the report (assuming you had a full survey) and will have pointed this out for the solicitor to check.

You can usually check online yourself on you council's website.

Building regs also likely to be required.

lincroft1710

Building regs definitely required.