Should we proceed with an Indemnity policy for a property with planning uncertainty

dark_knight005

EssexHebridean said:

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Yes - that’s a good point about the Council Tax - probably worth checking there isn’t an improvement marker against it. 

Thanks all. How would I go about checking this?

Once you have brought up the details for the property you are looking at, it will show if it has an improvement indicator against it. Essentially, it means that the Band that the current owners are in is liable to change when the property is next sold.

user1977 said:

Sorry, does chucking a bed into a playroom really bump up the council tax?

Massively unlikely, but good practise to check for improvement indicators before buying generally, I'd have said! 

Thanks very much for this. I have just checked and it has improvement indicator as "No", so does that means no matter what improvements are made to the property it will always stay in the assigned band. Is that right?

lincroft1710

DrSpendingLittle said:

One thing that comes to mind is the implications for council tax. If permission was granted for a 3 bed property, then council tax will be based on that value, which will be lower than for a 4 bed. 

 

CT is based on the 1991 notional value and the VOA would value the property based on its size, rather than number of rooms. The number of rooms has not changed anyway, so CT would not increase

lincroft1710

chanz4 said:

dark_knight005 said:

Hi @user1977 thanks for the reply. So for a little more context, we were sent the title deed and other documents and we were surprised that it said 3 bedroom house rather than four bedroom. So we pointed it out to our solicitor and they said that this is likely a breach in planning permission (which kind of scared us a little) and advised us on getting the sellers to put a indemnity policy in place.

No reason it cannot be considered a habitable room it is upstairs with all the other bedrooms, has windows and I guess it is built to the same spec as the other bedrooms. Its bigger than the third bedroom so I don't think size is an issue for it not to be classed as a bedroom. 

I think as we are first time buyers we are questioning everything as we are unsure on a lot of things. Is it right for a house to be advertised as a four bedroom even though the plans are for a third bedroom? Also should we be concerned about future saleability (as in would someone else pick up the issue and put them off)?

council tax be lower and water rates

CT is based on the 1991 notional value and the VOA would value the property based on its size, rather than number of rooms. The number of rooms has not changed anyway, so CT would not increase


Water rates are only payable with CT in Scotland

lincroft1710

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Yes - that’s a good point about the Council Tax - probably worth checking there isn’t an improvement marker against it. 

Thanks all. How would I go about checking this?

Once you have brought up the details for the property you are looking at, it will show if it has an improvement indicator against it. Essentially, it means that the Band that the current owners are in is liable to change when the property is next sold.

user1977 said:

Sorry, does chucking a bed into a playroom really bump up the council tax?

Massively unlikely, but good practise to check for improvement indicators before buying generally, I'd have said! 

Thanks very much for this. I have just checked and it has improvement indicator as "No", so does that means no matter what improvements are made to the property it will always stay in the assigned band. Is that right?

Not exactly.

It means that there have been no improvements recorded for the property since the band was last reviewed. Under current CT legislation you as the new owner may make improvements without the CT band being increased, but after you have sold the property then the band can be reviewed to reflect the improvements you had made

TheJP

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Yes - that’s a good point about the Council Tax - probably worth checking there isn’t an improvement marker against it. 

Thanks all. How would I go about checking this?

Once you have brought up the details for the property you are looking at, it will show if it has an improvement indicator against it. Essentially, it means that the Band that the current owners are in is liable to change when the property is next sold.

user1977 said:

Sorry, does chucking a bed into a playroom really bump up the council tax?

Massively unlikely, but good practise to check for improvement indicators before buying generally, I'd have said! 

Thanks very much for this. I have just checked and it has improvement indicator as "No", so does that means no matter what improvements are made to the property it will always stay in the assigned band. Is that right?

It means when you own the property the likely hood off your CT band changing wont happen. I also doubt the council will care or chase you soe buy the house sleep well and the rest is as they say history.

EssexHebridean

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Yes - that’s a good point about the Council Tax - probably worth checking there isn’t an improvement marker against it. 

Thanks all. How would I go about checking this?

Once you have brought up the details for the property you are looking at, it will show if it has an improvement indicator against it. Essentially, it means that the Band that the current owners are in is liable to change when the property is next sold.

user1977 said:

Sorry, does chucking a bed into a playroom really bump up the council tax?

Massively unlikely, but good practise to check for improvement indicators before buying generally, I'd have said! 

Thanks very much for this. I have just checked and it has improvement indicator as "No", so does that means no matter what improvements are made to the property it will always stay in the assigned band. Is that right?

My understanding: It means that if you buy it it will stay in its current band. If you - for example - choose to extend, then the property could (but won’t necessarily) have an improvement indicator put on it ready for when you sell. Of course that is all with the proviso that rules can change! 

Both our house and the one next door have had extensions - ours is a modest single storey, next door is a two storey fairly sizeable job. Our band stayed the same when we bought the house, and next door do not have an improvement indicator on theirs either - I suspect this very much depends on the council! 

TheJP

EssexHebridean said:

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

dark_knight005 said:

EssexHebridean said:

Yes - that’s a good point about the Council Tax - probably worth checking there isn’t an improvement marker against it. 

Thanks all. How would I go about checking this?

Once you have brought up the details for the property you are looking at, it will show if it has an improvement indicator against it. Essentially, it means that the Band that the current owners are in is liable to change when the property is next sold.

user1977 said:

Sorry, does chucking a bed into a playroom really bump up the council tax?

Massively unlikely, but good practise to check for improvement indicators before buying generally, I'd have said! 

Thanks very much for this. I have just checked and it has improvement indicator as "No", so does that means no matter what improvements are made to the property it will always stay in the assigned band. Is that right?

My understanding: It means that if you buy it it will stay in its current band. If you - for example - choose to extend, then the property could (but won’t necessarily) have an improvement indicator put on it ready for when you sell. Of course that is all with the proviso that rules can change! 

Both our house and the one next door have had extensions - ours is a modest single storey, next door is a two storey fairly sizeable job. Our band stayed the same when we bought the house, and next door do not have an improvement indicator on theirs either - I suspect this very much depends on the council! 

The floor space has not changed hence no improvement indicator, this wont apply if you change a bedroom to an office or a play room to a bedroom.

Herzlos

peterhjohnson said:

DrSpendingLittle said:

It does seem rather odd to build and market a three bed property which by all accounts is actually a 4 bed property. Surely there is greater profit potential for the developer to sell a 4 bed rather than a 3 bed? 

Yes, I thought that but this was originally a self-build house. Maybe the self-builders wanted 3 beds plus playroom so that is what they put in the plans?

That's my assumption, if it was built to the first owners requirements, then it may be called a playroom because that's what they intended on using it for. I can't imagine a builder doing it speculatively wouldn't have called it a 4 bedroom to get more money for it.

The solicitor has probably seen the mismatch and assumed that there's been modifications to the building and not calling a playroom a bedroom. You certainly wouldn't need planning permission or any certifications to put a bed in it, assuming it meets the criteria of a bedroom which I think in this case would just be that it has a window - we already know it's bigger than another bedroom and on a top landing with suitable stairs.

Herzlos

sheramber said:

Are there any requirements for a four bedroom house that would not apply for a three bedroom such as number of toilets/bathrooms?

If so, calling the fourth bedroom a playroom may have got round that.  

Parking, maybe?

I was under the impression that in some areas, houses of a particular size need a particular number of spaces. I'm sure there was a thread about it here recently.

lincroft1710

You now have the best 2 reasons why one of the FF rooms is marked as a "Playroom"

1. That is what the people who had the house built told the architect that is what the room would be used as.

2. By calling it a "3 bed plus playroom" as opposed to "4 bed", it circumvents an onerous parking requirement