Retrospective planning permission.

May 22, 2012 32 Replies

of course it is. The "Searches" should reveal all this - unless the previous owner did not answer the solicitor's questions truthfully.

Read my first post.

but the vendor is sent a list of important questions where an extension to the property would be mentioned.

>

I can't see how.

Its a part of the conveyancing process, where the vendor has to fill in prescribed forms that require disclosure of these things.

No, but his client makes a legal declaration to him.

If there is a problem, it should first fall to the conveyancing solicitor to fix. If it turns out his client has mislead then it may fall to them.

How would that work in a situation where every property is different, or in a rural setting where the house sits alone with no "street" to compare to?

Is this is the case that the original sellers have lied then there might be a case to look into.

Thanks Charles - what I suspect happened. I've only ever bought one place so not well up on the procedure.

No, it's the solicitor's job to ask relevant questions and get accurate answers. Those questions include 'Do any extensions have the relevant permissions?' or similar such wording.

"michael 'media phrase man' newport" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

See the often linked

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on overall size, maximum height, materials used and closeness to boundaries you may require building regulations approval and also planning permision. However you can construct quite large sheds and garages without requiring either. We built a large shed/garden room/workshop a couple of years back (look back through this NG for references to The Mother Of All Sheds) with concrete reinforced base, block walls and a metal sloping roof which did not require any permissions.

HTH

Dave R

The average person is supposed to make their own checks. If they are not sufficiently clued up to do so, employ someone who is (e.g., a surveyor).

A solicitor, as has been pointed out, may ask the seller whether any extensions or alterations have been carried out, and if so, to produce the evidence that the necessary approvals have been sought. If a seller lies, there's not a lot that the solicitor can do at the time unless the buyer advises them of a discrepency.

Look up, "caveat emptor".

The "standard questions" asked by your conveyancer include sections involving alterations to the building, among others. Failure to accurately answer these questions can lead to later civil legal action by the purchaser against the vendor and/or his agent, as well as criminal prosecution in certain cases. Insurance against this eventuality will probably be offered by your conveyancer if they feel that questions may have been answered in a misleading way, or if there may be a problem with the title.

Various lists of these questions can be downloaded from a number of places, and your conveyancer will normally use the list provided by their professional organisation. All the lists cover broadly the same area, with only minor details varying.

But is it not the case that if the buyer subsequently discovers that the seller lied, the buyer can sue the seller?

I have just recently bought this house which had an extension. The housing report showed this and then the solicitor asked for the planning permissions etc.

Did he use a Solicitor for conveyancing ? .... if so he should have found that out via standard searches. I would make a claim from that solicitor.

This is nothing to do with Survey ... survey is only to see if what is built is up to standard.

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