No planning permission for extension Scotland

Aberdon100

My parents recently passed away and I am preparing to sell their home. It is an ex council house in Aberdeen and they added a small extension to the property at the back of the house 7 years ago. I am now having flashbacks to when this was done and there was an issue with a drain cover and they decided to have the extension built over it without planning or a building warrant. I remember being concerned at the time and explaining it will be an issue when it is sold on. I am looking for any options that would allow us to sell without altering the extension or ripping it down. I have seen the 4 year and 10 year rules but they still appear to require submission of plans and a certificate of Lawfulness retrospectively, which given there is a drain underneath I presume this would be rejected. I would prefer to sell but if we had to rent it out until 10 years had passed I would consider this.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

molerat

Probably a case of pricing it right for a cash buyer. Is it in a popular rental area ?

Aberdon100

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894763#Comment_81894763

Not the most popular area for renting but would rent out.

Gonk1967

This could be a bit of a problem…

Does the drain serve only the one property or are there other properties linked to the drain?

If only the one property then it is likely to be a private drain and you would probably need building control (or the Scottish equivalent) sign off.

If there are other properties linked to the drain then this would have been classed as a private sewer until 2011 when all private sewers were vested to the local Water Company. If this is the case then they would have needed a "build-over" agreement with the water company and in all likelihood they wouldn't have allowed an internal inspection chamber.

Has the cover been completely buried? or is it still accessible?

Aberdon100

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894879#Comment_81894879

It's completely covered with no access unfortunately.

button_box

It is possible to take out an insurance policy to cover things which have been built without Planning Permission. I am not sure if this helps with your question. We bought a property that a small out building had been converted to a new kitchen without Planning Permission/ Building Warrant and the seller had to take out a policy to cover this in case the local authority ever came back to us. This was in Scotland but no drains involved.