Change of Use

[AutumnDragon]

Does anyone know if I'd need to apply for planning permission to change a B&B/small hotel into residential only or do we just live in it and not run it as a B&B?

We are looking for a house with a largish annexe for PIL to move in with us. As we were all chatting about it DM suggested jokingly that we bought one with two annexes and she could move in with us too.

This set DH & I chatting and we realised that at sometime in the future DM will need some care so thought we'd look into this. Finding a house with two annexes is proving very difficult (I did find one I fell in love with that we could easily convert but DFIL doesn't drive so it's probably too rural https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165115052#/?channel=RES_BUY)

We have seen some B&Bs for sale in Devon that we could easily separate into three self contained areas but would we need permission to do this?

AI says you need to apply for change of use. Probably worth checking with the local council. It's a fabulous property!

It would be a Change of Use planning application. Some lenders will require you to have obtained the planning permission prior to approving your mortgage, so you’ll need to be very clear about your intentions with your broker / lender from the start. Local authorities are less likely to grant a CoU from C1 to C3 (hotel to residential) in areas where the economy is dependent on tourism, so it’s something you need to look into the viability of prior to making an offer.

It doesn't sound likely then - we're looking Torbay area so very much touristy.

The trouble is that annexes don't seem that common within towns, they seem to be more of a rural thing.

You can contact the local authority for pre-planning advice on whether your project is likely to receive planning approval. They’re generally pretty straightforward in telling you if it would most likely be an outright no.

Annexes might be more difficult to come by in urban areas, but flats tend to be more common. Would a conversion of a property close by to yours into two flats for PILs and DM be on the table?

It doesn't appear to be on business rates but is on E council tax, more likley to be acceptable for change to residential only. May not be an issue.

for a property of that price and size I would expect it to be re-banded on sale. No way will a band E dating from Sept 2000 survive a sale price of +/- 900k.
It is most likely that it has never been uplifted after being converted to current residential use.

The fact that it is band E does however eliminate any question of needing change of use and can be confirmed that CoU was previously given on the sedgemoor planning portal

Sorry, I don't think I was very clear.

The above property is residential as far as I know, just in the wrong place. The in-laws would prefer Devon and not rural, I just linked to it as I love it and it would solve the layout issues.

We were looking in places like the Torbay area for houses with annexes and couldn't find much, but found that there are several B&Bs on the market and it made us wonder if we could convert them to residential as a number lend themselves quite well to conversion.

Having done more research (I did email the council but haven't received an answer) there looks to be some regulations (TO2??) that would stop us in Torquay.

Having said that they wanted Devon, today they have asked what we think of Bournemouth! So I guess they want to be by the sea rather than specifically Devon! It's a good job we love them. DH & I run our own business that could be run from virtually anywhere so location isn't so much of an issue for us.

You need change of use, but that in this situation should be quite straightforward

Even if it needs planning permission I cannot see many people complaining about somebody living there and not using it as a business.

What if you bought a B&B and advertised it at £1000 a night thus stopping anybody making bookings. Is that breaching planning rules?