Outbuildings - planning permission and use

Soozegirl

Hi - long story, so will try to keep it short.  Bought a bungalow in 2021 which was sold to us as a 5 bed house.  The property has a detached, two storey large double garage with two large rooms above and three other rooms on the ground floor. This detached building has planning permission which was granted in about 2010, but the bedrooms and en suite, laundry room and downstairs boot room/toilet and another room (which we use as our study) were only upgraded in around 2018 from what was originally designated as a garage, studio and store rooms.  They did obtain building regs for all of this work.
Further, there is also a 'proper' linked roof area between the original bungalow and the garage block which also has pp from years ago - but it did not cover the whole 'gap' between the bungalow and the garage block.  The sellers we bought from have covered the gap with a roof and doors to each end, thus creating what they described as a sun room.  It is insulated, properly floored etc but is not heated.  This would have also been done in around 2018. They advised us that pp was not required because it was not heated.  No issues came up in our survey or via our solicitors.
However, having lived here for a while we thought it would be nice to properly heat the sun room area (it gets cold in winter) and change the existing external door from the bungalow kitchen into an internal door, thus opening up the whole property as one.  The doors into the garage block from the sun room are heavy internal type doors and the flooring is the same as the sun room, running seamlessly.  Apart from the external door from the kitchen you really would not even be aware that it is not one whole property.  Following some research, I am now worried that the bedrooms above the garage in the detached block should not be being used as bedrooms as the original pp was for garage and outbuildings?  Also, would we need permission to change the external door and put in some heating to create one property which was effectively what we thought we had bought in the first place?!  I am worried about asking the council about making the link area more integrated in case they tell us that the use of what were originally a studio and store rooms etc as bedrooms should not have happened!  Not done by us, but obviously we don't want to give up the accommodation we use!  There would be no change to the external elevations and the property is on a large plot in a village of predominantly detached properties with plenty of parking.
Hope this makes sense.  

Hoenir

Soozegirl said:

  No issues came up in our survey or via our solicitors.

Your solicitors never visited the property. Onus was on you to raise issues via them at the time of purchase. Likewise the surveyor would cover themselves in their report as to whether neccessary permissions were sought. 

Regularising the property now and making improvements. Would assist with any future sale. 

Soozegirl

I appreciate your comment.  The problem is that we are not planning experts so did not know that we needed to say anything!  To us the house looked (and does look) like one big house so it never occurred to us.  Am I right in thinking that as the changes were carried out some 6 years ago now, the issues are all now a bit irrelevant?

BarelySentientAI

Soozegirl said:

Am I right in thinking that as the changes were carried out some 6 years ago now, the issues are all now a bit irrelevant?

Enforcement for breaches of planning conditions is ten years.

Soozegirl

Thank you. That's helpful.  From my reading up I think the use of the rooms as 'gym' with access to shower, cinema room, store etc are allowed as they are 'incidental', but it is the use as bedrooms which is the issue.  The house was marketed, presented on viewing (including on detailed floor plans) and sold to us as having these rooms, but also as having the two bedrooms which we didn't question (as I've stated above) - it all looks like one house.  We bought during the pandemic and came from living abroad so only had an opportunity for my husband to view it just once. 

Albermarle

The property has a detached, two storey large double garage with two large rooms above and three other rooms on the ground floor. 
Is it still used as a garage and/or does it still look like a garage, with a garage door at the front for example?

Herzlos

I suspect the sunroom is unheated because it's basically a covered walkway between 2 separate buildings, and they've made a conscious decision to do it that way. To do anything else with it you'd essentially be combining buildings and that may require planning permission.

Soozegirl

Hi - yes the garage block has a double garage at the front with garage doors and we use it as a garage - there is even a car in it! It has three rooms behind it and two rooms above it.  The whole block has planning permission from about 2010.  I think it was originally used as garage, store room, studio, office - but the people we bought from called the two upstairs rooms 'bedrooms' and used them as guest bedrooms (after they had upgraded them etc), which is what we  have also done since we moved in.  
Yes, Herzlos - I think you are probably correct.  They were told by the planners that they did not need pp for the covered area because it was not heated.  The problem for us is that the whole property looks so like one property (they did a lovely job!) that we didn't even consider that it was actually two separate ones.  As stated above, it was sold to us as one whole property.  The only thing I recall from the sales brochure was the suggestion that the garage block area could be separated off and used as an annex (subject to permissions).  Obviously, we now realise it was already a separate area, and we didn't really want it as an annex so didn't give that much thought. 
I have now read that we could apply (and would probably be successful) if we applied for change of use from the outbuilding use to an annex (ironically!) so I guess at least that means we would be able to use it as bedrooms legitimately.
I suppose the next 'big question' is what would be the likelihood that we would be able to turn the whole property into one property - even though that's what we thought we had in the first place!

secla

im pretty sure in planning theres no stipulation as to what a room is to be used for, its either habitable or its not. you could change your dining room into a bedroom for instance and your not breaking any rules. As long as planning was given and building regs were adhered to i think your ok.

As for the bit joining the 2 building together it sounds like they have build a conservatory between the 2, As such wouldnt require planning but part of the regs to this is that you need to keep exterior grade doors and it cant be heated using the central heating system from the house. You could however use electric heaters etc.

to remove the doors would require planning permission

Soozegirl

Thank you.  I have decided not to spend any more sleepless nights on this!  We will carry on with how we live.  I agree about the conservatory comments and, yes, we will heat the room with an electric/oil free standing type heater instead of trying to connect to main heating system and keep the external type door into the space.  I guess it does help with security!
It seems a bit of a minefield - as usual - and I did read lots of planning reports/decisions yesterday which suggested that 'occasional bedrooms' could be argued as being 'incidental'.  I also realised (doh!) that we use one of the 'bedrooms' as a cinema/music room which is incidental and all of the other rooms are also incidental, so it really is just one bedroom which is rarely used, so I have decided to stop stressing about it.

Soozegirl

Hoorah - I just found this on a planning website which I think covers me!  The building was constructed with full pp and has been used for incidental use for several years before the next owners (before us) changed the use - slightly.

'If you have already built an incidental outbuilding lawfully using permitted development rights, then we come back full circle to the first point – changing the use of that outbuilding to another residential use, including an ancillary use, is not a material change of use, so doesn’t need planning permission.  But if this is your plan, you will need to use the building for incidental purposes for some time first, before you start using it for ancillary purposes, because if you don’t, the building won’t be lawful in the first place'

and this:

The Inspector noted that in Rambridge v SSE (1996) the court held that Class E does not permit a building that is designed from the start as primary residential accommodation, and that in Peche D’Or Investments v SSE (1996) the court rejected the proposition that a building that had been built for ‘incidental’ purposes under Class E could, a day later, be changed to primary residential accommodation. However, the Inspector acknowledged that if a building had genuinely been constructed for incidental purposes, planning permission was not required for a later change [to primary living accommodation], provided the building remained within the same planning unit.