Can we live in a C1 holiday let (with no restrictions on number of nights it can be used)?

SNuttall · 9 February 2021 at 9:26PM

Hi, we have recently purchased a property that was historically a small hotel and therefore considered to be in use class C1. For council tax / business rates it was considered mixed use as it was lived in by owner / occupiers who ran the B&B. From 2001 - 2016 no owners lived on site and it was rented out as a holiday let. In 2011 it was inspected by the planning department solicitor who described it as "materially a single dwelling house" but, due to the "scale of use" at the time (being rented to large groups, not all from the same family) he concluded it was still in C1 use. Use at that scale was lawful despite complaints from neighbours because the property had always been C1. We would now like to occupy the property as our full time home. While formal change of use to a C3 dwelling property would require a planning application (which theoretically could be refused), we are trying to confirm whether it would be lawful to occupy the property as our full time home anyway, without applying for a change of use. In our opinion, no enforcement action could be taken against us if we did because the occupancy under C1 use is not restricted or caveated in any way. Thoughts?