Extending house

RebeccaCar

Hi, looking for a little bit of advice. 

I have a semi detached house with a driveway. Planning permission was sought by the previous owners and permission for the driveway granted by the local council however the land registry map shows that the land the driveway is on does not belong to the house. I’ve no idea why the council didn’t pick that up!  We had to take out an indemnity policy to remove the driveway if anything happened. 

Fast forward 10 years and I want to build an extension to the house on top of the driveway. I know I have to apply for planning permission but do I need to do anything regarding who owns the land? 

The housing estate is ex-council- am I right in  thinking it that they will own that piece by default if it isn’t registered to anyone else? Does it make any difference that they have given permission for the driveway. 

I’m too scared to go to a specialist as I was told it would void the indemnity policy. 

user1977

No, it would be crazy to build an extension on land you don't own, and it's not going to be covered by your existing indemnity policy. First step is to find out who owns the land.

ProDave

Wait 2 more years and you might be able to apply for adverse possesion of the land forming the driveway.

Watch out for "no building without permission" covenants on an ex local authority property.

RebeccaCar

Thanks both, maybe I’ll wait the extra two years then. 

diystarter7

RebeccaCar said:

Thanks both, maybe I’ll wait the extra two years then. 

Hi OP



IMHO, you made a bold move and I hope it pays off well.

Good luck

aoleks

Is the driveway at the front or the side? If at the front, it would be unusual to extend, hnless you mean a porch.

Section62

RebeccaCar said:

I have a semi detached house with a driveway. Planning permission was sought by the previous owners and permission for the driveway granted by the local council however the land registry map shows that the land the driveway is on does not belong to the house. I’ve no idea why the council didn’t pick that up!  We had to take out an indemnity policy to remove the driveway if anything happened.

Ownership of land isn't relevant for planning consent - anyone can apply for planning consent on any land.  The planners would only have an interest if you were building something for which a piece of land was essential (e.g. land for an outside space for a house) and it was clear to them the land wasn't in the ownership of the applicant and there were no plans to buy it.

On the planning application form there is a section where the applicant has to declare that they have notified the owners of land the application relates to, if it isn't owned by the applicant.  On a technicality the planning consent given originally could have been subject to challenge if it was shown that the owner of the land hadn't been notified.

Bear in mind that it is entirely lawful for you to apply for planning consent to build a driveway on council-owned (non-Highway) land, so long as you notify the council as landowners.  What you can't do is to build the driveway without the council's (as landowner) consent.

RebeccaCar said:

Fast forward 10 years and I want to build an extension to the house on top of the driveway. I know I have to apply for planning permission but do I need to do anything regarding who owns the land? 

The housing estate is ex-council- am I right in  thinking it that they will own that piece by default if it isn’t registered to anyone else? Does it make any difference that they have given permission for the driveway.

It is very common for council land not to be registered. And if the land is in the middle of an estate then if it isn't registered then the council would be the most likely owner.  Parts of the estate would only become registered as and when they are sold to tenants. If the land is Highway then it is unlikely to be registered unless built in recent years.

How exactly is the driveway laid out?  Do you have a fence and gate enclosing the whole area? Going for AP is not always as easy as it sounds (especially against a council which has a duty to protect public land).  If the land isn't fully fenced off you may have difficulty in showing you had exclusive use of the land.  Also check and double check that the council didn't give consent for the land to be used as a driveway - if your use of the land is by consent then AP doesn't apply.

On the other hand, if the land doesn't have a particular use or interest for the public, you might find the council is quite willing to sell it to you.  Many LA's are now more interested in raising capital receipts than holding onto land (for 'just in case') so are more open to the idea of disposing of surplus land. The difficulty you'll have is finding out whether the council would be willing to sell without voiding the indemnity policy - in this case it wasn't the best of ideas to get one.

RebeccaCar said:

I’m too scared to go to a specialist as I was told it would void the indemnity policy.

Are you sure?  Usually you can't contact the party whose potential actions the policy is indemnifying you against (e.g. the council), but that shouldn't normally stop you obtaining professional advice from a third party.  For example you have to be able to speak to a solicitor to get advice on your legal rights.

TBH in your position I'm not sure I would wait and try the AP route. You may fail, in which case you could also lose the ability to park on the land and consequently suffer some loss in value of your property.  You'd also miss out on at least two years use of your extension, and risk further construction cost inflation.  In reality it is likely to take some time for the AP process to grind through, so two years could become three or four.

If the council is willing to sell the land to you, or clarify ownership, that would be wasted time. And financially you could spend more trying to gain AP (plus what you lose on delaying the extension) than the council may accept as payment for the land.

This is really something which is very specific to your circumstances, so professional advice is vital.

RebeccaCar

aoleks said:

Is the driveway at the front or the side? If at the front, it would be unusual to extend, hnless you mean a porch.

It’s at the side of the house :-)

RebeccaCar

Thanks so much @Section62 for your detailed reply. That was so helpful! 

The driveway runs right down the side of the house, you’d never know it’s not part of the house. It’s surrounded by a wall and gates to the bottom. 

Perhaps I’ll try to buy it from the council then as I can’t see it being big enough for them to want to keep. I’ll check that it is unregistered and I’ll make some enquiries with a solicitor. 

Hopefully they won’t want to charge crazy money for the land 🙈 

ProDave

Post some pictures.  If it is as you say fully enclosed by a wall and a gate, then you can demonstrate exclusive use and be in a good position for an AP claim.

As soon as you ask the council how much will they sell it for, you have acknowledged you don't own it and scuppered that possibility of an AP claim.

One other thought, if you buy it from the council I would expect it to come with a "no building" covenant.  What would be the situation if you obtained it via AP?  Surely there won;t be any such covenant so it might even be a better way to obtain the land?

As previously advised, before doing anything seek some profesional advice.

Section62

RebeccaCar said:

The driveway runs right down the side of the house, you’d never know it’s not part of the house. It’s surrounded by a wall and gates to the bottom. 

Perhaps I’ll try to buy it from the council then as I can’t see it being big enough for them to want to keep. I’ll check that it is unregistered and I’ll make some enquiries with a solicitor. 

If it appears that much part of the property then you might want to explore why the council didn't sell the land with the house in the first place.

One example could be something like an easement for drainage, electricity or another utility - is there an electricity substation nearby, for example?

Do you have a neighbour on that side, or is it something else like a road or open space?