To not help the miserable bastards any more

[ohnonotagainagain]

Long story short: sold house, needed to get retrospective planning permission for garage, council taking long time to decide, new owners want to get a lawyer onto us and are being very rude to us, I want to withdraw application and tell them to do it themselves.

All the details so as not to drip feed ... Sold our house to a very friendly couple who seemed like decent folk. Didn't realise at the time that we should have applied for planning permission for a garage conversion we'd done the year previous (new law brought in in our country, not the UK FWIW). We said they could pull out of the sale if they wanted (this was early days before any money had exchanged hands, surveys been done or mortgages applied for) or otherwise we'd help them apply for retrospective planning permission.

DH has been working on planning permission since then. Each time we submit, the council has a month to consider then come back with a yes/no or a request for further information. Twice they've asked for further information. Second time we took a while to get back to them (4 weeks) as I gave birth on the same day we received the demand, and between a single day paternity leave and a ft job, DH was a bit busy and it slipped his mind. So that bit I can see would be annoying for the new owners.

So additional evidence was eventually submitted and as of today we're coming to the end of another month-long waiting period, and told them at the beginning of last week that we'd know by this Tuesday (11th) if we'd been successful. They, however, took it upon themselves to call the council on Friday and were told that the application had been shelved indefinitely - in fact, looking at the time frames involved, the council must have given them the results of another application we made at our new house, which has been shelved; they don't have the right to ditch this current application at this point.

So, thinking that their application had been refused, they called their notary who in turn called me and said they were going to get a lawyer on us because we've been hiding stuff from them.

We responded with an email with the full paper trail of the application and asked them to please be patient until the office reopened on Tuesday so I could go ask.

They replied telling us that we were immature, unreliable and frankly our personal circumstances (ie having a baby) are of no interest to them, they just want the planning permission granted.

I've a feeling that permission will be granted this time so WIBU to go to the council and withdraw the application, and tell the new owners to do it themselves, as we've no legal obligation to help them and they are being bloody awful? DH thinks we should just see it through so we can get them off our backs.

They cannot tell you off because the planning officer is unavailable until Tuesday. You did what you promised, you went to the office today to get an update, something they could easily have done for themselves. They don't get to bitch about that in every communication. They are not your employers.
They got the wrong information about being shelved, this is presumably because they didnt GIVE the right information in the first place but just gave partial details. I think this is more likely than that the planning office got it entirely wrong. It was their handling of the communication that was lacking.
If they are rude to you again, I'd give them the planning officer's name and the application number and tell them to ring her themselves if they don't believe you.
I don't think that a month is that much of a delay in planning terms actually and you have actively been working on it around that period. You have done all you can. They need tocalm down. Its a process, it's proceeding at the rate it proceeds, however angry they get. Try not to stress about these ingrates and enjoy your time with your lovely new baby x

*Thursday soz

I'd be fuming too OP but yeah for the sake of a couple of days waiting and a couple of furious emails from the buyer I would suck it up so they're out of your hair for good. They sound like twats so I would do what gets rid of them quickest.

Keep your dignity & integrity. Go through with the planning application. You will be the better person and they will remain arseholes for the rest of their lives.

Honestly I would wait it out with the council. When you decide to give them the result is up to you but I would go radio silent for next week.

We bought a house with things that should have had all sorts of permits and didnt - we knew most of them needed sorting so that was our choice. They knew it didnt have permission so it is their problem.
That being said I would probably chase up this one for them but if there are any other questions they are on their own.

What Sedona said I am guessing that the gentleman's agreement was that your previous house was sold for the value that it would achieve with planning permission in return for you retrospectively obtaining the planning permission?

Everyone knows what a 'gentleman's agreement' is, but this could be argued by a good solicitor as a the basis for a 'verbal contract'. There is no black and white, so to save yourself the hassle and what may come, just try and see it through and lose some of the emotional response.

What can the notary do? Are they planning on suing you for breach of promise or something? See it through, give them the proper documentation though if you didn't need the planning permission at the time of the conversion how on earth is it needed now?

Did you use a solicitor of some kind to help complete the sale? In the UK you would buy an insurance policy to cover this sort of thing. I would go back to your solicitor - this is what you paid them for presumably?

See it through, give them the proper documentation though if you didn't need the planning permission at the time of the conversion how on earth is it needed now

They should have had applied for planning permission prior to the conversion, but were not aware at the time that it was required.

Hope you get an answer tomorrow so you can get them off your back. Any chance you can block them from email after this, or at the very least mark them as junk mail. Definitely block their number too, if they have yours.

I know people like this well you deal with them a lot in customer service they turn in to the rudest people on the planet at the drop of a hat when they don’t get their was basically grown adults with the temperaments of 2 year olds sorry you’re having to deal with this op

Tell them that their personal situation is no concern of yours. and they can apply themselves as your personal situation means you don't have time for their application.

Which country is this in if you don't mind me asking?

So reading your responses the house is sold, contracts exchanged, money changed hands, the house is no longer your property and they live there/own it/are responsible for it.
It's their issue now and if they want to be arseholes about it I'd be inclined to withdraw the application and tell them yep we are immature, go sort it out yourselves!
Fuck them! Cheeky fuckers!

Where do you live that their solicitor allowed this?
I agree with them that you having a baby shouldn't have affected you doing what you promised - they trusted you to do this and forgetting for 4 weeks is not very good.
That said, you have a verbal agreement to help with the application, not necessarily take all responsibility for it. I hate to think what will happen if permission is refused. I think they are very stressed so I would give a bit of leeway and ignore their attitude.
Have you investigated whether they have any comeback if permission is refused. Has your solicitor been clear with theirs that a successful application isn't guaranteed? If do, then at the end of this particular cycle with the council I'd pass all the information over to their solicitor and bow out.

"They replied telling us that we were immature, unreliable and frankly our personal circumstances (ie having a baby) are of no interest to them, they just want the planning permission granted."

I would not swallow the above.

If you are Definitely not legally obligated in anyway, tell them to fuck off - after their disgusting comments you no longer have any motivation to help them and you are focusing on much more important things.

Tell us what country OP. There must be a lot of rogue sheds so it wouldn't be too outing I imagine. There might be someone that knows the ins and outs of the system in your particular country her on MN.

Their disgusting comments need challenging imo.

I think it depends whether they bought the house without planning permission in order to allow you to move to your next property before the baby was born (and paid a price that would have been on the basis that it had pp). In that case, they were doing you a favour in good faith, and I can understand why they're getting very stressed about it now. Doesn't excuse the getting stroppy but if they'd insisted on it being in place before the house was sold presumably you'd still be living in it, waiting to move with a young baby.

I'd take a deep breath, continue following it up and enjoy being 'the better person' when it all comes through.

@ohnonotagainagain er they had a baby!

@HidingFromDD
So it's okay to be insulted/bullied as long as you're 'the better person'?

From my observations, people who get away with treating others with contempt like this, get worse because no one has the guts to tell them where to get off.

The legalities of it will vary from country to country especially re verbal agreements. Personally l would input no further effort into it and enjoy your new baby. You said you would help them rather than do it all and be attacked by them. People moan about the 4 weeks but you were doing them a favour (not the other way around) and had just had a baby. The house has after all been sold. They need to get a better lawyer next time they move

I agree with your DH, see it through u had an agreement! Then they will leave u in peace.

if you have nothing in writing, then ignore it unless they can get evidence that you agreed to do so after the sale. THey should just get an indemnity included in the sale paid 1/2 each side to avoid any future issues. Anyway if the property or garage been there say 10 years? nobody would bother anyone would they? council dont generally know about anything unless someone complain and then they will give you grieves.

Let’s hope the lady is in tomorrow!