Buying a house with planning permission & part completed build

Fuzzyness

i dont think its in enforcement territory. if they commenced the extension in accordance with approved plans the permission has been implemented and therefore immune from enforcement action. clearly if the extension does not accord with the approved plans then it may be an enforcement issue.

more likely is the issue of the council serving a completion notice on them but i think the chance of that given the length of time that has elapsed is low. the OP could consider applying for a certificate of lawfulness of existing use to confirm that the extension is immune from enforcement action if they want more certainty.

Doozergirl

We're still ignoring the possibility of something falling under permitted development.

rskegg

Wow, this is great stuff! Thanks everyone for your input!

I'm actually looking at the permitted development aspect as an angle - the ground floor extension is extending on an existing extension and is actually quite small, filling a gap in the line of the house rather than expanding any of the widest dimensions. both parts of the extension combined are smaller than 50% of the original footprint of the house too so there might be some hope here if my understanding is correct.

I've asked the seller for some detail and documentation, once I have it, I think I'll get in touch with the council and discuss my options. Feels like a legal query but essentially you have all filled me with hope that it is not insurmountable as we are seriously keen on this house!

Fuzzyness

rskegg wrote: »

Wow, this is great stuff! Thanks everyone for your input!

I'm actually looking at the permitted development aspect as an angle - the ground floor extension is extending on an existing extension and is actually quite small, filling a gap in the line of the house rather than expanding any of the widest dimensions. both parts of the extension combined are smaller than 50% of the original footprint of the house too so there might be some hope here if my understanding is correct.

I've asked the seller for some detail and documentation, once I have it, I think I'll get in touch with the council and discuss my options. Feels like a legal query but essentially you have all filled me with hope that it is not insurmountable as we are seriously keen on this house!

dont you need to be careful about contacting the council if you think you may need indeminity insurance. dont you in effect alert them to the problem. hopefully someoen else can clarify.

lincroft1710

G_M wrote: »

The other major concern would be the foundations. Make sure they were put in to support a two storey building, not single.

Even in 2007, all foundations had to be capable of supporting a 2 storey extension. So Building Control would only pass plans where foundations were sufficient for a 2 storey extension, even though the proposed extension was only single storey.

DCFC79

Any news OP ?

Hoploz

Check the planning application online (or on paper, if you have it) and it'll state on the Decision Notice what the conditions are. For example, it'll usually say work has to commence within 3 years of planning being granted. There is normally no deadline to finish. There's a plot near me where they've put in footings and left it. It's been like it for about 5 years, it's a real eye sore, but there's nothing to be done.

So, as long as you get confirmation from building control that the work so far has been inspected and complies, that's all you need. You can finish it when you like.

The temporary roof might not have the full quota of insulation so the room might be cold.... So you might want to get on with the upstairs soon!

rskegg

Hi everyone, once again, thanks for your input:

Sooooooo,

We really want to proceed with the sale and it might not be a disaster, just wanting a little more concrete evidence to keep us safe.

Basically, the bit of the extension is what was planned for the ground floor and was signed off for building regs.

The existing extension already in place has been inspected and has suitable foundations to take the second storey.

Work is still with the solicitors at the minute (thankfully they are both good reputable local firms) and the seller is pursuing written assurance from the council that the development is all good.

In the interim, I have plans to secure teh funds to complete if this becomes a requirement so assuming the mortgage people are happy then I suspect we will move forwards once we have heard from the council - pretty much regardless of what they say provided it's not an enforcement order!