Outbuilding and Trouble with Builder

benson1980

Section62 said:

benson1980 said:

A builder should be signposting/declining to advise if they don’t know 100% what the permitted development rules are. Id expect them to be pretty clued up as to whether consultation with planning, or an architect, is required.
 

I think your expectations depart significantly from the reality.

Even within this thread - where people have had the opportunity to use google before posting rather than needing to answer from 'stored' knowledge - there have been more than one contributors unaware that the overall height limitation is different if building closer than 2m from the boundary.

It happens over and over again here on this forum - people oversimplifying the PD rules and not understanding the nuances.  Coupled with the "what can we get away with" approach, the risk is always there of people building without the correct consents.

With the exception of a very select few, builders should almost always say that consultation with planning, a lawyer, an architect etc etc is essential before embarking on a building project.  But the reality is that this only happens on an exceptional basis - and people who adopt the "you need to check..." approach are frequently ignored or passed over for a job, when other builders have more of a 'can do' approach.

I agree with you. They should have recommended consultation if required. I don’t expect builders to be experts on planning regs, but certainly more informed than the lay person and they should advise if you need to check. Doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Personally I’ve always looked for due diligence (or tried to, anyway) in a tradesperson rather than going for the cheapest quote.