Is this allowed?

AdrianC

Davesnave wrote: »

Well, if that's usual, your neighbour would probably welcome a change of use, but the OP didn't have that problem.

He didn't (but, then, he didn't notice the change of use, either). But this has come to light in a house sale, remember?

And house sales are usually followed by a spate of more intensive work on the house and grounds.

iammumtoone

OP you knew the situation when you purchased the house.

Many people as AdrainC use their garages as a place they make most noise as it is away from their house (my dad does - drilling/knocking etc). People working on cars will also generate a lot of noise. Even if your current neighbours don't use for this purpose there is no guarantee new neighbours wouldn't.

Your only hope is to find out if they need planning permission for this change of use, even if they do I am not hopeful with just your one objection you would be able to stop it as the building was there when you purchased you house and it doesn't alter the outside view of the property.

I do feel for you as can understand your point but when buying property it is your responsibility to consider what might/could happen in the future.

AlexMac

I can't add much to this mountain of advice;

... other than that although I live in a conservation area, albeit not in a listed building

....I have recently converted a garage into living space; with windows, added insulation, new suspended floor, central heating and an ensuite shower room/loo

... and because in MY conservation area, our Council has chosen not to introduce an 'Article 4 Direction', which removes some permitted development rights, we didn't need palnning approval.

We did require Building Regs approval; which I applied for, and after 3 inspections during and after the work, was given.

So it might well be that what your neighbour did was fine?

Although I did thoroughly consult mine- if not least because they had builders vans and skips cluttering up my forecourt and our (unadopted) street for a couple of months so it would have been inconsiderate not to.

TheGardener

What about offering to buy their garage?

Cakeguts

cookie7209 wrote: »

I don't believe planning permission was ever given for the garage which was probably built in the 60s, although I can't be 100% sure.

With regards to being detached it was sold to as as such and we've been paying a detached band of council tax. Perhaps we're due a lot of money back from the council now!

It was probably described as detached by the estate agents but you knew that it wasn't detached when you bought it because you knew that some part of next door's property was attached to it. The garage.

sevenhills

cookie7209 wrote: »

True. I'm very worried about all of this. They are nice people and I hate confrontation.

If they are wanting to sell, all this would have come to light when the solicitors started asking for building regulations and planning consent, you have done them a favour by drawing their attention to it now.

davidmcn

Cakeguts wrote: »

It was probably described as detached by the estate agents but you knew that it wasn't detached when you bought it because you knew that some part of next door's property was attached to it. The garage.

I dunno, there was a previous thread here from someone outraged that there was another property attached to their house, and they were convinced they had a case for mis-selling it as "detached". I think we did express some incredulity that they didn't walk around the house before buying it...

Pupnik

We ended up pulling out of buying a flat that had multiple changes of use (bathrooms and bedrooms swapped about) without planning permission and it really held things up until we eventually pulled out of the purchase (for a variety of reasons but that certainly didn’t help – we just didn’t want the agro) so they could well have some difficulty when they come to sell.

Also, to the people baffled by the neighbour’s garage being attached to the OP’s house, with older large properties that had multiple outbuildings surrounding a yard this is not that uncommon. My family home is very similar – two detached farm houses near to each other in a conservation area with our 2 storey triple garage and a little work shed attached to the neighbouring house but not attached to our own. Ripe for turning into a holiday home let or similar, if my parents felt like it, but I don’t think the neighbours would like it. I can think of several similarly unusual layouts at other rural houses I’ve been to.

cookie7209

swingaloo wrote: »

Am I understanding this correctly? How can you have a detached house when next doors garage is attached to it. How did the garage come to be built on your house rather than theirs?

The garage was built years ago before we purchased the property. The house was sold to us as detached and, perhaps naively, we believed them. It was just a garage after all and not an annex as such

cookie7209

davidmcn wrote: »

I dunno, there was a previous thread here from someone outraged that there was another property attached to their house, and they were convinced they had a case for mis-selling it as "detached". I think we did express some incredulity that they didn't walk around the house before buying it...

We thought if a just a garage was attached to the house it was still classified a detached house.