# Re: No planning permission for driveway



## Delphi (15 Mar 2010)

Hi all,

I am a first time buyer and I am sale agreed on a property and have just found out that there is no planning permission for the driveway.  It is a very big garden and I have been informed that the council could ask me to reinsate the garden to its original design.  I am worried about this.  Am I mad to buy a house with no planning permission?

Thanks 
Delphi


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## mathepac (15 Mar 2010)

I'm puzzled. Do you mean you have discovered that there is no permission for the house as a whole or that specific permission was not sought to make an entrance-way onto a road?

Have you asked to see planning compliance documents or has your solicitor / surveyor highlighted an issue?

If there is an issue I'm sure your solicitor will advise against proceeding.

What do you mean by "sale agreed"? Have you exchanged contracts?


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## Delphi (15 Mar 2010)

Hi mathepac,

My solicitor informed me that no planning permission was sought to make an  entrance-way onto the road.

She (my solicitor) has asked if I wish to proceed.  I have paid my deposit and had my survey carried out but no contract signed yet.


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## dereko1969 (15 Mar 2010)

you should be able to view the planning permission online - most counties have the details online. You could check there first. There must be something missing from your information, permission would not be given without road access so either the driveway was built in the wrong place or perhaps the wrong materials used but either way you should be able to find out from the planning documents.


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## Towger (15 Mar 2010)

When the question is 'how many years has the entrance-way onto the road been in existance?'


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## Brendan Burgess (15 Mar 2010)

I presume that it is an old house which had an ordinary pedestrian gate and path.

The owners extended this to a big gate and put in a tarmacadam drive. 

They probably dished the public footpath to allow cars in and out. 

In my previous home, I applied for planning permission to do this and did it according to the permission and paid the City Council to dish the footpath.

However, I rarely see people applying for planning permission to do it. Most people just do it without permission and no one seems to take any action. 

I have even seen people do this on listed buildings and the city council took no action, despite complaints from neighbours.

So...

They could give a letter telling you that it was done prior to 1963 in which case no permission was needed. 

You could buy the house and apply for retention on the grounds that it has been in existence for over 5(?) years. 

You could walk away from the purchase. 

The only practical problem you face is that it might put off some buyers when you go to sell it again after a few years.

Brendan


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## Delphi (15 Mar 2010)

Thanks a lot for all the replies.

It looks like my only option would be to buy the house and apply for retention (thanks for that Brendan) I am annoyed that it could be a problem in the future if I want to sell on the property.

Do I have grounds to renegotiate the price because of this?

Thanks
Delphi


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## mathepac (15 Mar 2010)

Through your solicitor you could try insisting that the current owner resolves the planning compliance issue before you progress any further and if you reach that stage, make resolution of any/ all outstanding planning issues  a condition of the purchase contract.

It all depends on what you want - potential price reduction now or possible problems in the future if you try to resell.


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## Bronte (16 Mar 2010)

mathepac said:


> Through your solicitor you could try insisting that the current owner resolves the planning compliance issue


 
Yes, one could do that and open another can of worms.


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## Delphi (16 Mar 2010)

Hi,

I would like the current owner to resolve the planning compliance issue before progressing any further but I assume that will take months to resolve.

Thanks
Delphi


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## mathepac (16 Mar 2010)

Don't forget the alternative I offered :

Hi,

I will buy your house in the full knowledge that there are serious planning-compliance  issues that may cost me money or deny me the opportunity to resell in the future.

I'll pay you 20,000 less than your asking price as a result of this decision and I know you'll be happy to accept my offer. We have both seen how successful sacrificing common-sense on the altar of greed has been in the last couple of years, so hey, they got theirs,  now we'll get ours.

Thanks
Delphi.


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## Delphi (17 Mar 2010)

Thanks mathepac,

Your advice is much appreciated.  I have agreed to go ahead with the sale but have asked for a reduction in the price and just waiting on a reply back.

Cheers


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## tenchi-fan (18 Mar 2010)

My house had a driveway put in without planning permission but the previous owner got retention a few years ago.

A previous house I was looking at didn't have a driveway but every other house in the street had one. The council does not agree with the use of the driveways - basically there's a green area in front of the houses which is owned by the council and over the years every single house paved over it to make a driveway!

Good luck with the house. Don't worry about the driveway. It's a bit of a risk but chances are even if the council doesn't approve retention you could probably still get off with using it.


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## TheRed (18 Mar 2010)

The creation of a hardstanding, ie tarmac over the front garden is exempt from the requirement to get planning permission (unless listed building or architectural conservation area) and therefore you will not be required to reinitate garden. 

The vehicular access into the front garden requires planning permission, understandably given traffic hazard concerns. 

It is statute-barred if the vehicular entrance has been in place for over seven years, unless there was a condition on the planning permission of a house, that no vehicular entrance be created.

You can seek retention permission for this whether it is statute barred (for peace of mind) or unauthorised. 

The worse case scenario will mean you'd have to stop using it for parking. Generally councils will grant permission unless a traffic hazard is created. 
Key considerations:
Is the vehicular entrance close to a corner?
Do the gates open inwards?
Is it a very busy road, can you turn in the front garden to allow you to always exist the site in a forward motion?

You should ask the current owner to bear cost of application and appeal.


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## ramble (22 Mar 2010)

Are you getting a mortgage on the house? Has your solicitor told the bank that there is a planning issue?  When drawing down a mortgage your solicitor must undertake to certify title to the bank.  The solicitor is not in a position to certify title if there is a breach of planning regulations whether statute barred or not.  The breach must be notified to the bank and they must accept it.  So at the end of the day the decision may not be up to you.  Your solicitor may not think that the title needs to be qualified and may be happy to certify the title anyway but when you go to sell the purchaser's solicitor may have a different attitude.  

In the past banks would commonly have accepted statute barred planning breaches, they are not so accomodating now.


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