Planning permission on an old property

Emiemigro

We have a potential buyer for our property asking to see planning permission for the front dormer (Built around 1966) and rear extension (built around 1971) I’ve looked on our council website and can’t find any planning applications for our house. They’re both only smallish additions to the house - the dormer adds on the upstairs (dormer bungalow) and the rear extension adds on a utility room and downstairs shower room.The extensions were done by my partners grandfather (done a bloody good job too) and he’s convinced he wouldn’t have built anything without getting planning first. I’m now panicking we won’t be able to sell if we can’t produce planning documents. However we’re going back over 50 years..... should I worry if the council can’t find anything? Will it put buyers off and we have to lower the asking price? 

davidmcn

No, you just tell the buyer that there's no need for them to see planning permissions for works that old (if there was even permission needed) and they can talk to their solicitors about it if they're in doubt. It's several decades too late for the council to enforce any lack of planning permission.

greatcrested

As a last resort with an insistant idiotic FTB, offer to buy Indemnity insurance. Around £100? It's totally pointless - it pays out if the local authority forces the buyer to either apply for retrospective permission or knock down the extansions.

Since the LA has only 4 years to enforce planning matters, they will never enforce and the insurance will never be needed............

FreeBear

Contact your local council. Ask if they have records of planning permission granted for the property, but do not ask "was PP granted for X, Y, or Z". Keep the query generic, and it may throw up things like new gas boiler, replacement windows/doors, as well as the bits you are interested in. Whilst some of their PP records may be online, historical applications will be on microfiche or paper files.

With my local council, I can see permission granted for an extension in 1976, but no further documentation. From previous enquiries, I know they have records of other works done on the house that are not online.

snowcat75

This seams like a buyers tactic to push the price down, Id be tempted to walk before the deal has even started, they sound hard work.

Firstly PP even if done without consent will not be challengeable by the LA  after 4 years, it doesn't technically make it lawful but to all intense purposes it is.
Even then PP may not be required it may have fallen under permitted or not even necessary in the 70s.
Generally when selling most works are only of interest that have been carried out within ten years, (certainly not from over 40 years ago!)
Even building regs more than a decade old are completely out of date (there not retrospective),   hence the need for surveys.

At the most Mortgage provider may want the fudge of indemnity insurance.

As for contact the council trying to find historic consents / losing sleep over these buyers I wouldn't, find someone not trying to be so crafty. 

davidmcn

snowcat75 said:

This seams like a buyers tactic to push the price down, Id be tempted to walk before the deal has even started, they sound hard work.

Sounds to me more like a buyer who doesn't know what they're talking about.

Emiemigro

Thanks for your comments - the council have informed me there’s no planning applications for our house so we have to provide evidence that the additions have been here for longer than 4 years, and then apply for a lawful development certificate (god knows how long that will take) so I’m a bit peed off to be honest! But never mind. 

davidmcn

Emiemigro said:

we have to provide evidence that the additions have been here for longer than 4 years, and then apply for a lawful development certificate

You don't, unless your purchaser is really arguing that the alterations might be less than 4 years old. I presume it's pretty obvious they're not. I would suggest you (and they) talk to the solicitors to get a more sensible view of how to proceed.

Out of interest, how old is the rest of the house, and have they seen paperwork for its original construction? If not, why are they not concerned about that as well?!

Emiemigro

davidmcn said:

Emiemigro said:

we have to provide evidence that the additions have been here for longer than 4 years, and then apply for a lawful development certificate

You don't, unless your purchaser is really arguing that the alterations might be less than 4 years old. I presume it's pretty obvious they're not. I would suggest you (and they) talk to the solicitors to get a more sensible view of how to proceed.

Even if I’ve been told I have to do this by the council? I don’t think the buyer is that bothered. The extension out the back is very small and the dormer is small too and is roof height so hardly a gigantic eyesore. 🤷‍♀️

davidmcn

Emiemigro said:

davidmcn said:

Emiemigro said:

we have to provide evidence that the additions have been here for longer than 4 years, and then apply for a lawful development certificate

You don't, unless your purchaser is really arguing that the alterations might be less than 4 years old. I presume it's pretty obvious they're not. I would suggest you (and they) talk to the solicitors to get a more sensible view of how to proceed.

Even if I’ve been told I have to do this by the council? I don’t think the buyer is that bothered. The extension out the back is very small and the dormer is small too and is roof height so hardly a gigantic eyesore. 🤷‍♀️

No, the council isn't telling you that you have to do it, just that's the procedure if anybody really wants to put it completely out of doubt. In practice people just take a view about works which are obviously historical.

Sachs

If you want the Council to confirm that the extensions are fine then you need to apply for a lawful development certificate. If you don't want them to confirm they are fine then you don't. Do you want the Council to do anything?