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Buying A house where Vendor says Extension done before they moved in

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oneofnine
oneofnine Posts: 29 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling

Sorry for the long title .The problem is this - there is an extension at the back of the house I am buying .We couldn't find planning permission for it ,and the vendors have said it was done before they bought it in 2002 .
Does this mean it is safe for us to buy ? or should they have made sure before they moved in ?


any answers would be helpful
thanks .
«1

Comments

  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,441 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
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    If the seller confirms that in a reply to a pre-contract enquiry, it's pretty much safe.

    The local planning authority can't take enforcement action.

    But your mortgage lender may still insist on indemnity insurance.
  • Mrs36
    Mrs36 Posts: 193 Forumite
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    Your local council may have a record of planning applications/buildings regs that you can search for via their website That should be your first port of call.
  • Hoploz
    Hoploz Posts: 3,888 Forumite
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    Depending when it was built and how big it is, there's every chance it didn't need planning permission. Don't worry about that. Just make sure it (like the rest of the house) seems structurally sound.

    Having a building control completion certificate helps with peace of mind, but anything built more than a few years ago will have had less stringent criteria to pass than nowadays anyway, so even this would only tell you it met the standards of the time.
  • oneofnine
    oneofnine Posts: 29 Forumite
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    Mrs36 wrote: »
    Your local council may have a record of planning applications/buildings regs that you can search for via their website That should be your first port of call.

    Yes , we've been on there but could find none .Our solicitor asked about it , and their reply was it was built before we moved in .

    Am just concerned that when we come to sell - will this cause a problem ?

    thanks for both of your replies .
  • oneofnine
    oneofnine Posts: 29 Forumite
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    Hoploz wrote: »
    Depending when it was built and how big it is, there's every chance it didn't need planning permission. Don't worry about that. Just make sure it (like the rest of the house) seems structurally sound.

    Having a building control completion certificate helps with peace of mind, but anything built more than a few years ago will have had less stringent criteria to pass than nowadays anyway, so even this would only tell you it met the standards of the time.

    It is a pretty big extension but so much time has passed since then,I wonder if it'll matter ?
  • Mrs36
    Mrs36 Posts: 193 Forumite
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    Have you received your searches yet, maybe they would bring something up?
  • oneofnine
    oneofnine Posts: 29 Forumite
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    It's a funny house really - it's not old or anything but it comes under this directive 4 or article 4 or something .They told us they had to put a boiler in and needed permission to do so .
  • oneofnine
    oneofnine Posts: 29 Forumite
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    Mrs36 wrote: »
    Have you received your searches yet, maybe they would bring something up?

    Yes we've got the searches back but it doesn't tell us anything really.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
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    Do you mean article 4 directive? Is it in a conservation area? You have to get planning permission to change anything.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    oneofnine wrote: »
    Our solicitor asked about it , and their reply was it was built before we moved in .

    Am just concerned that when we come to sell - will this cause a problem ?

    Well, your solicitor should be advising you on this - it's what you're paying them for! - but these things become less problematic the more historic they are, so by the time you come to sell or remortgage it will be an even older alteration.

    Have you had a survey? If so, how old does the surveyor think the extension is?
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