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council have taken my property tax but say i have no planning? Help needed
linda4767
Posts: 37 Forumite
I need some help here please..
Five years ago i bought a building in a sealed bids type auction. On the agents details it was listed as a multi let house and needed much work to get it into shape, it had 2 kitchens and two bathrooms and was separated in to 2 flats.
After i bought it i realised it had two house numbers (1 & 1A) and found out that the council knew it had been split in to two flats before 1993 and rated them both band A on the council list register, even though no planning was ever given. I spoke to a council employee from the housing grants dept just after i bought them and he told me i first would have to apply for planning permission. Then he told me that retrospective planning was in place and i need not apply, so i took that as gospel and carrried on and refurbished the two flats and moved into one and rented the other out. That was five years ago and all has been fine and the council tax has been paid on both flats.
I recently had a sale for the two flats to an investor and was asked for a copy of planning by his solicitor, the planning dept said they have no record of the property being split into two flats and i was told i had to apply for full planning with building regs. My solicitor advised to put in for a lawful development cert which i have. Why if the council knew about the separation of the building into two flats some 15 years ago have they taken all that council tax but would not recognise the planning on them ? What is the score on building regs ?
My buyer has now pulled out from the sale and i am stuck waiting for a decition on planning. Any help would be great ?
Five years ago i bought a building in a sealed bids type auction. On the agents details it was listed as a multi let house and needed much work to get it into shape, it had 2 kitchens and two bathrooms and was separated in to 2 flats.
After i bought it i realised it had two house numbers (1 & 1A) and found out that the council knew it had been split in to two flats before 1993 and rated them both band A on the council list register, even though no planning was ever given. I spoke to a council employee from the housing grants dept just after i bought them and he told me i first would have to apply for planning permission. Then he told me that retrospective planning was in place and i need not apply, so i took that as gospel and carrried on and refurbished the two flats and moved into one and rented the other out. That was five years ago and all has been fine and the council tax has been paid on both flats.
I recently had a sale for the two flats to an investor and was asked for a copy of planning by his solicitor, the planning dept said they have no record of the property being split into two flats and i was told i had to apply for full planning with building regs. My solicitor advised to put in for a lawful development cert which i have. Why if the council knew about the separation of the building into two flats some 15 years ago have they taken all that council tax but would not recognise the planning on them ? What is the score on building regs ?
My buyer has now pulled out from the sale and i am stuck waiting for a decition on planning. Any help would be great ?
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Comments
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Is he buying one or two leases?0
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Hi, i am selling the two flats together as i bought them and he was buying the freehold.0
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Let's try again, do these flats have separate leases? not informal one's but registered leases? If I do a LR search what will I find?0
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no, they have no leases0
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If it was me, I would ask a lawyer about turning the two flats into leasefold properties in their own right, registering the titles and selling them individually, retaining the freehold myself.
When council tax was billed, how did the council tax refer to the two flats?0 -
The two flats both appear in the council tax valuation list as separate self contained dwellings since 1993. Rather than get involved with leases i wanted to move on and invest the money from the sale in to a house i found0
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With separate addresses?0
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planning and council tax are two separate departments - the fact that you have not got planning is nothing to do with the two separate addresses.
i know this is hindsight - but never accept a local authority member of staffs word - ALWAYS get things in writing.0 -
If you want money for two flats then they need to have leases drawn up. If you want money for one house (which will be less than two seperate flats) then you can sell it as one house.
You will get lawful developement as the flats have been there long enough.
The best money is to be made by getting leases drawn up which makes the conversions legal and mortgageable.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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yes, council tax is nothing to do with whether a building is legally registered or not, they're not interested, its in their interests to get as much council tax as ppossible, so if you tell them its 2 seperate addresses, thats what they will billyou for0
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