garden office roof too high

[alittlehelp]

We've had a garden office put in today. The max height you can have without planning permission, given the location which is less than 2 metres from our boundary, is 2.5 m. We agreed with the company supplying that the dimensions would be small enough that permission wouldn't be required. The height is actually 3 inches more than the maximum (and 6 inches higher than what we asked for!). However we are desperate for the work to be finished and want to avoid a long delay of having them redo it all. My main concern relates to the planning permission - does anyone know the implications of going over the allowed max? Will it be an issue if/when we sell the house? Grateful for any advice, thanks!

I may be making this up, but I thought if it wasn't discovered within a certain period of time it was ok. 7 years maybe?

I don't know the answer to your question I'm afraid but how did it end up 6 inches higher than you asked for? That is a huge miscalculation on the part of the company installing it. Unless I was absolutely desperate for the space immediately, I would be insisting the work was redone.

Thanks, yes I think that's true. I'm not sure of the time limit either.

No idea how they've managed to to get it wrong - I'm glad you think it's a big enough deal to insist they redo it though, as I was doubting myself!

It's four years. If a neighbour notices and complains you could have a problem.

6 inches is a big discrepancy.

I'd ask for it to be sorted out.

If you get a complaint from a neighbour you may have to address it or apply for retrospective planning permission which may or may not be granted

Alternative is you get planning permission or get them to supply what you ordered

You can call your local council for advice. You can do it on a no names basis. I would get it sorted by the company now. Once you have accepted it then you may be liable for making alterations if it becomes a problem at a later date. I.e. You have to pay rather than the company who made the error.

We bought a house which had had some alterations made to it that did not have planning permission. The alterations were at least 20yo IIRC, and the lawyer did not think it likely that there would be any problem with them, but insisted that the sellers pay for an indemnity policy (?) to cover our backs, just in case.

If you are in a desperate hurry for the work to be finished, could this be an option for you? Obviously you'd have to consult with a lawyer over it, but that cost should also be borne by the builder.

Is it too high because of the foundations? Did the people preparing the site not dig down enough?