Estate agent giving false information

[Timbucktime]

A house has just come on the market as a probate sale next to a relatives home.
The estate agent is marketing it as having big extension potential.

The issue my relative has is that they are also saying that planning permission had already been granted for a side extension but had now lapsed.
This is completely untrue as there has never been any application for a side extension in the last 45 years that my relative has lived next door.
They are now worried that somebody will buy it and straight away decide to apply for planning permission to build what would then be 60 cm from my relatives windows.

They phoned the estate agent and told them but they didn’t seem very interested in the incorrect information and just went on about how many viewers they have lined up and now it will sell very quickly.

Is there anything they can do?

If planning permission is sought then your relative can object but there’s no guarantee it would be rejected.
It’s nothin* to do with an estate agent.

So the estate agent takes that out of the advert, and someone buys the house and decides to extend... what difference is that for your relative?

I’m not sure if there is anything you can do but I don’t think the misinformation matters to your relative in the grand scheme of things. Either someone buys it, tries to get planning permission and fails or they try to get planning permission and it succeeds. What the estate agent has written is irrelevant to the planning process. The only people being misled is potential buyers

Any potential buyer can see if there’s planning permission.

Any potential buyer can apply for planning

Whatever the estate agent says or does has no bearing

If I were buying a house on the basis planning permission had been granted for something, I would want to see evidence of that before exchanging contracts.

If it hasn't been granted, that wouldn't stop a new buyer applying, unfortunately.

The best thing your relatives can do is look at planning regs and guidelines to see how best to present an objection if the situation arises.

I think there is some kind of law on property misdescriptions, although I don’t remember the details. The estate agent is misleading people and I suppose in principle could get in trouble.

But remember - any buyer who seriously wants to extend would look into it properly before buying, at which point they’d find out there was no previous permission. So I’m not sure the agent’s error will make any difference to anything.

If somebody buys and then tries to extend, you can deal with the issue then.

I agree that having that in the description isn't going to make a blind bit of difference as to whether a buyer extends in the future.

Unfortunately, all your relative can do is object to any planning application they disagree with.

Estate agent blurb often includes waffle about the potential to extent. And a lot of people like to extend their homes to give modern family spaces. Whether that happens or not is down to the planning process, not down to the wording in the estate agent details.

Have you looked on the planning portal to see if there has actually been any permission that your relative missed? Unlikely but worth a look. Also, is it possible that the planning was from before your relative moved in? That would be seriously lapsed!

Have a look at your local planning portal to see what type of plans have been approved. Even if the property is not on there (which if planning was ever granted it should be) your relative can look at what other extensions have been approved to get an idea of the sort of work that could be undertaken and is likely to be approved due to previous grants.

Finally there are permitted developments that the buyer would not need planning for:

www.create-room.co.uk/extend-house-without-planning-permission/

The council planning website only shows planning applications for the last 20 years. It’s not on there, if there had been anything it would have been in the very early 1970’s.

It has a lot of interest as it’s a bungalow and unfortunately whenever a bungalow in the area comes up for sale it gets completely destroyed with people wanting to turn them into normal 2 storey houses.
The lovely elderly lady who lived in the house lived in darkness for the last year as she became too afraid to open her curtains due to having absolutely no privacy from another bungalow that had planning granted to turn it into an ordinary house. The owners completely ignored the stipulation that they had to have non opening obscure glass.
Took a year of complaints to the planning department to get them to at least put frosted film on the windows.

It used to be a lovely area but is changing for the worse.

In the nicest way OP you can’t stop progress, perhaps it’s time for your relative as well.

Relative to move even

People should never be pushed to moved from their home. People should never be allowed to destroy people’s quality of life in their own homes.

Very sad world if people think doing that is progress.

Of the property is sold and planning permission granted for extensions then your relative has to accept the change.

Things move on.

And its irrelevant what the estate agent says about planning permission. It's up to the purchaser to apply.

Would any of you actually be happy with the prospect of having somebody potentially move In Next door to you who would happily build a large solid brick wall 60cm from your windows blocking out all light?

This is the trouble with planning, no one wants anyone to build anything anywhere!
I don't really see what the proximity to your relatives property has got to do with anything. Loads of properties are close together and some build right up to the boundary with the correct permission.
There will be some restrictions about windows looking in etc but on the whole, progress is not stopped for no reason.

No I wouldn’t but this was always a possibility when the property changed hands so your relative would need to object if and when the new owner puts in a planning request. Nothing the estate agent says will change the outcome of the planning process.

The chances of an objection being accepted is zero if it is just based on someone not wanting an extension built next to them.

@Timbucktime

Would any of you actually be happy with the prospect of having somebody potentially move In Next door to you who would happily build a large solid brick wall 60cm from your windows blocking out all light?

Round here they are buying this type of property and building small blocks of flats.

I think you and your relative have got yourself into a catastrophising state. Maybe they’ll get some new neighbours who will turn out to be lovely and enhance their lives. The old lady who wouldn’t draw her curtains was unwell: no one needs to live like that no matter how close the house next door is.

Given what you've posted about the area and the history of bungalows being snapped up and converted into two storey dwellings, i can't see the estate agent's bluff making a blind bit of difference. From what you've said it's highly likely someone will buy it because of the history of approval for extensions on similar properties on the area and develop it, and there's very little you can do except accept that and buy your relative privacy blinds when required. Unfortunately that is the reality for a lot of people, including myself, when development takes places around your home.

I know that's harsh but tying yourself in knots calling the EA and checking planning when the property hasn't even been sold will only cause you and your relative stress with nothing to show for it at the end of it all.

The lovely elderly lady who lived in the house lived in darkness for the last year as she became too afraid to open her curtains due to having absolutely no privacy from another bungalow that had planning granted to turn it into an ordinary house.

This is quite ridiculous. Your relative can object to planning and the due process will sort that out. This could happen in any property.

I agree with PP - you are catastrophising.

No one is pushing anyone from their homes, I agree with others you are catastrophising this. An area is never going to stay the same for decades. People modernising houses does not mean an area is getting worse, it’s just changing. Unfortunately if you don’t like that change then yes you will need to move to an area more suited to your liking.