Is planning permission required for this sort of work? (pics attached)

[Sandrine1982]

We made an offer on a house some time ago and almost everything is ready - we have had our mortgage offer, we have the searches back and our solicitor is just waiting for the replies to the enquiries he's raised.

I'm getting a bit impatient at this stage so today it occured to me to check the council's website to look for the planning permission the vendors presumably must have obtained for their loft conversion, double dormer and kitchen extension.

But .. lo and behold ... there is no history of planning applications associated with this house !!!!

Apparently the work was done 3 years so surely it would show up on the website? All the neighbours' applications were there, from as far back as 2000s.

I know we should have checked this ages ago, I just had no idea that this info was publically available. I feel so stupid.

I'm attaching the pics of the lof conversion and kitchen extension.
The kitchen was just extended into the garden by approx 3 meters (no side return). Surely this work would need a planning permission? or is it just permitted developement?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

*3 years ago
*publicly available

Typos!

Either might have been pd but unlikely to both, especially with the size of the dormers. Having said that there was a more relaxed rule a few years ago that they may have taken advantage of. Do they have buildings regs approval ? If they started it 3 years ago pp could predate that by a few years. Is it in a Conservation Area, A.o.n.b or similar?

Loft conversion and side return development could be done under permitted development but huge red flags are waving to me that you can see planning applications from neighbouring properties - is this for similar work?

And you couldn’t pay me to live with that flat roof extension. Unless you really love moss.

Yes the neighbour's work was similar - as you can see on the picture of the dormer on the right.

@Slothkin the survey was not very positive about this house, so we got a price reduction to fix a few issues.

But this planning permission business is starting to stress me out ...

No it's not a conservation area...

You need to ask your solicitor to look into this.

Yep that would be straight back to the solicitor for me too.

There should be building regs sign off at the very least. I would definitely get your solicitor on the case, and ask your vendor to provide the builder's warranties.

One may have been PD but depending on the cubic volume, seems unlikely that both are.

On our extension we got it signed off by a person from planning permission. We got a certificate. I keep it in my safe in case we ever want to sell.

I thought such extensions could usually be done under permitted development. Often people will apply to the council for a certificate of lawful development to confirm this but that's just for peace of mind. Have the neighbours applied for planning permission or just a certificate?

Planning permission, or lack of it, might not be then end of the world as it could be granted retrospectively. It unlikely to be refused if all the neighbors have it. But lack of building regs approval could be a massive issue as it's how you know the attic is safe to sleep in.

Get your solicitor onto it asap.

Your solicitor will be able to help with this

Note planning rules vary between countries. In England I don't think anything stops you doing both a roof and rear extension under pd. The restriction on the increase in volume is only relevant for the roof extension.

It would still need building regs sign off even if it didn't need PP..... building regs are available to see on our LA portal although occasionally there are things missing so don't panic unduly. The search facility is absolutely shite too and so try and just Google your address plus 'planning' or 'building regs' rather than the search function on the portal.

I fell foul of this too and we pulled out, as our '4 bed detached' was actually a 3 bed + loft space with dodgy en-suite. Also next door were about to build a 2 storey extension to 20cm of our exterior wall making it an almost semi so no way to maintain our outer wall.

I wonder what was there before the roof was altered? Was it changed many years ago and just retiled? It’s not attractive that’s for sure! Was there previously a first floor? I grew up in a house like this and there was a fist floor like this but just built out of brick with a window. So I’m wondering how big the change was.

We have a large kitchen extension and a dormer loft conversion, both done under permitted development in last 6 years. We got building regs on both and I think there is a specific thing (certificate of lawfulness??) that says they comply with permitted development regs. None of ours features on the council pp website though.

I wouldn't be surprised if that work hasn't been signed off, the loft conversion looks like it's about to fall off the roof! I'm no expert, but I would have thought the new bricks should be flush with the rest of the house at the very least.

You need to raise this with your solicitor ASAP, querying the documentation in place for the loft conversion, given the work was so recently completed. If it's not in order, I'd be getting prepared to walk away.

It would need building regs if nothing else

We got quite a lot of work done on our old place 12 years ago and although it was a very reputable builder & a good job, for some reason getting it signed off with building regs slipped through the net.

We subsequently had to get it signed off and actually get the council out to check it out before we sold it beginning of this year. It was fairly detailed and the council actually sent someone round. It was lucky we had lots of photos on our phones to show them the stages of the work so they were satisfied things had been done properly. So at the very least you want to insist that the building regs documents are fully signed off. It may be worth a phone call to your council to check on this and get hold of them if they exist. Or insist on them being retrospectively obtained if they do not.

I'm no expert, but I really do not like the look of that loft conversion it just doesn't look right me and looks like it's been done fairly oddly. My gut feeling is I wouldn't touch that house with a barge pole. But I am no expert, and a lot of loft extensions are done which last well, so it may be okay, but it does look like it doesn't line up properly at the very least.

Also be careful about relying fully on your survey as they can only inspect what they can see - and so if there is problems under the surface they won't show up on your report.

In our new place we have just discovered a long term leak in the shower, and although we had a full building survey done it didn't come up as they would only have spotted it if they had taken off the trim at the bottom of the shower unit tray to check it out, which is apparently above and beyond what they will do...

@Starseeking I was assuming it was tiles or a brick skim to reflect the similar work on the property next door.

This is what your solicitor is for - they should be checking this.

PS - also bear in mind that if you come to sell it, you will be getting asked these kind of questions by any prospective buyer - so it is fairly risky if the documentation doesn't add up. It may also affect your ability to get a mortgage as the solicitor should be acting also with due diligence for the mortgage provider and ensuring it is a good bet for them to lend money on.

The extension is almost certainly permitted development, but it looks like there is a side dormer on the loft which would need permission as far as i know. However it's unlikely to be enforced on, so you can take a judgement call on it.