Buyers have made PP a condition

[bellepup29]

We are selling our house to a couple who want to extend, and they have made the granting of planning permission a condition of the sale. So we are not just subject to contract & survey, but also to their getting PP.
It's very unlikely that there would be any problem with getting it, but the issue is that it can take up to 6 months in our area!
Has anyone else had experience with this notion of PP before contracts? I never realized that PP could be applied for by anyone except the owner!

Back in the market
But if there’s an exciting PP possibility then I would begin the process as may be very attractive for prospective buyers

They can put in the planning application

Can they put in a planning application for a house they don’t own ?

Put your house back on the market immediately. They are being massive CFs. And it will only get worse.

All helpful advice. However the vendors of the house we want to buy are all ready to go! But of course if these buyers apply for PP there will be a delay anyway. Not sure about re-marketing - the property market in our area is quiet. Yes, we have sold & bought many houses between us - but never before had this problem!

I agree with the consensus on here - call their bluff and put it back on the market. Then, if they want to make another offer, it has to be higher, and PP will not be a condition.

Put the house back on the market. This condition is unreasonable.

back on the market now. That may well quick the buyer into sorting themselves out. The agent is clearly terrible so I'd change agent too

I would put it back on, is it priced as is, in it's current condition. You dont normally have to do repair works yourself if the price reflects its condition. The survey will show up what needs to be done and then the price can be negotiated if needed. They are taking the pee.

Put it back on the market, you never know what might happen. I doubt your sellers will wait 6 months while you wait on PP anyway.

I can see why you’re annoyed, HOWEVER, that’s down to the EA, not your buyer.

If the house only works for them if they can get PP & are prepared to pay the money to investigate that, then it makes sense to me. I assume you’ll have to do it in your name, but as long as they’re paying up front then there’s no issue is there 🤷🏻‍♀️

Put it back on the market & see what happens, if you get another offer then it’s their loss isn’t it.

I think any interested party can apply for planning on a property - they don't have to be the owner. However the only time that I've heard of this happening as a condition of purchase has been for larger property developers buying a larger plot of land involving demolitions and the potential construction of several new homes; that I do understand. Your situation is wholly different. This sounds like an extension on a single private home....they will now pester you for information to complete the application form! Worse still, should the application actually fail then this risks devaluing your home. Get it back on the market and tell them to stop wasting your time.

I would walk away, if you got PP you should get better price so either way its not a good deal and highly likely will fall through.

Tell them that you will put it back on the market because they added that condition after making an offer. You do not owe them anything and may actually get other offers and possibly sell before these CFs get their PP. They not even get it or it could take ages.

This:
Let them do their application, but don't take your house off the market in the meantime. They can't expect you to do so when they haven't made a firm commitment.

Say No. Pop it back on the market. They're also being cheeky twats about the works being done pre survey. You negotiate after the survey and tbh even then I'd refuse to budge.

You may also find someone offers better.

Go back on the market - if PP is refused, it could devalue your home.

Ridiculous. I would definitely call their bluff and put it back on the market. If they want it they can go through the process at their own time and expense. People are unbelievable!

@Mintandthyme yes they can. Planning permission and the legal right to do the work for which permission is sought are two different things.

I suspect they are "one sandwich short of a picnic basket" as they say in these parts.

They need to pursue their building project post purchase. The timescales for most simple planning apps roughly are 2 weeks to register online, 1 week to notify neighbour's, 4 weeks for neighbour's to respond, 6 weeks for planning officer decision assuming no comitteee is needed due to objections - in which case add another 2 weeks. That would be a lean timeline.
One easy solution for your buyers to consider as a compromise would be for them to go and make an appointment with a planning officer for some formalised pre-application advice (it does cost a few hundred).....this should then give them the comfort level they need to proceed with the purchase depending on the feedback or to pull out. No big wait, puts the onus back on them.

People absolutely can put in PP for properties they don’t own, that’s not an issue.

If you want to be really cutthroat..

Tell them the house is going back on the market but they can resubmit an offer if they get planning. Then when they get planning put the house back on the market for a higher price.

All the planning documents will be on the public portal so you’ll always be able to see exactly what it is they applied for and market your house accordingly.

How would that even work unless they already have drawings done to submit?

Haha - no. They commit and get on with it by Monday next week or it goes back on the market. You could get PP yourselves and increase the price to reflect that. Play hardball. They sound like awkward buggers who are going to mess you around indefinitely.