# planning permission on old houses



## dj123 (28 Dec 2009)

Hi all.
Whats the story with planning permission if you buy a piece of land with an old house on it? we want to do up the old house instead of knocking it? is it cheaper to go this way than to knock it and start building a new house from scratch?


----------



## onq (28 Dec 2009)

dj123 said:


> Hi all.
> Whats the story with planning permission if you buy a piece of land with an old house on it?



Hi dj123

The first thing to do is establish whether or not the house is still a habitable dwelling.
You then need to ask advice from the local authority planning department.
The local authority may have issued specific guidelines in relation to:

returning emigrants
permanent settlers
members of families who owned the land
contributors to the local community, employers, etc.
Depending on who you are or your connection to the locality as well as the current condition of the house, there may be a way forward for your application.
We recently obtained permission for a premises in Donegal and all of the above issues were factored in to the application.
The wording of the application form was quite a complex appraisal of what initially seemed a straightforward demolition and rebuild.

There were other issues involving drainage, access and an SAC, but the point is that in Donegal at least there were ways forward - in other places there may not be or there may be different routes forward.


> we want to do up the old house instead of knocking it? is it cheaper to go this way than to knock it and start building a new house from scratch?



How long is a piece of string?
The cost can only be approached after you define your wish list and turn it into a brief.

For example, do you want to:

completely restore the original or is it a protected structure?
maintain existing floor plan or extend to improve accommodation?
use the existing structural elements or replace due to deterioration?
put up with 20-or-more year old heating and insulation standards or try to modernise?

Remember that older rural properties were often built without proper DPMs or insulation.
Such omissions can be expensive to be put right in an existing house.
You should have a think about the property along these lines.

Wander over to the Self-Build FAQ and read some of the planning issues also.
Come back here with any further questions if you like.

PM me if it looks like I'm ignoring this thread.
But there are a lot of good people here.
This week is stacking up... 

HTH

ONQ.

[broken link removed]


----------



## RKQ (30 Dec 2009)

dj123 said:


> we want to do up the old house instead of knocking it? is it cheaper to go this way than to knock it and start building a new house from scratch?


 
It depends on the state of the existing house, its floor area and its position on site. Naturally as an existing dwelling it has a right to be there, even if it may not comply with today requirements regarding septic tank, percolation area or sight-lines at existing road entrance etc. From this point of view it is a lot better than a green field site.

The existing structure is important. Sometimes a single storey dwelling constructed of hollow block with a concrete tile roof has little structural or asthetic value. In this case it may be cheaper to demolish and rebuild.

A local professional will be able to advise (Architectural Tech, Building Surveyor etc)


----------

