Regards to the conservatory Planning

[khotaita]

If after 5 years and there is no complaint regards to my conservatory then the council cannot touch us. And if we decided to sell our house by that time then it shouldn't be an issue. Am i right?

[woofgang]

I don't think so. If you are in breach of planning consent then there is no time limit on serving an enforcement notice. I for one would not touch with a bargepole a house that had a planning breach as it transfers to the next owner. I know this because it happened next door to us.

[Twenty20]

Does your conservatory actually need planning permission? Many don't.

http://www.planningpo...rkcommonconservatory/

[bednobs]

i agree with woofgang, although i don't know anything about the "5 years" you mention, i would not buy a house that had unauthorised work or work without building regs/planning permission

[bushbaby_de]

I wish people wouldn't answer with speculation rather than actual factual answers!

Woofgang - there most certainly are time limits on when an enforcement notice can be served - 4 years for operational development and 10 years for change of use or breach of condition.

Khotaita - chances are a purchaser won't just take your word for it. If you can prove it was there over 4 years ago, or that it didn't need planning permission in the first place, you can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate which would cost you £75. As it takes about 8 weeks to determine the application you may want to sort it out before you put the property on the market.

The other option is to buy indemnity insurance, if your purchaser will accept that.

Technically you need neither if it is permitted or immune through passage of time, but there are a lot of nervous buyers out there who will want some paperwork (like Woofgang and Bednobs I guess)

[buildersmate]

Well said, Bushbaby. I am also sick to death of people with opinions on Planning Consent and Building Regs, who from their feeble efforts at responding clearly know little about it.

[tastymorsel]

We have a conservatory and applied for planning permission for it.We were told that anything under 12 foot didn't need it.(Got it in writing)

[Vagrant]

Another thing to look out for:
I had a conservatory built on my last house.
It didn't need planning permission (I checked with the council, and complied with the restrictions on size, distance to footpaths, etc).
However, there was a Covenant attached to the house (or its deeds maybe? I'm not a legal expert) which required that regardless of planning/building regs etc, permission had to be obtained from the original builder to add a conservatory.
I managed this after considerable difficulty and expense - the original builder had gone bankrupt some 40 years earlier.

[buildersmate]

"We were told that anything under 12 foot didn't need it.(Got it in writing)"

By providing such a response, you appear to be implying to anyone reading this that the inference is a conservatory under 12 foot (or even feet) long doesn't need planning consent. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the property is in a Conservation Area or a National Park or has had its Permitted Development Rights removed (often because it has already been extended already), then planning consent would be required.

I rest my earlier case.

[bushbaby_de]

Also planning works in metric so I doubt you will have anything in writing which refers to measurements in feet!