Possible breach of planning permission criteria for house I'm considering purchasing?

gombeen99

[Firstly to say that I am just looking for people's thoughts on this house purchase issue, and that I will definitely be getting professional legal advice].

My wife and I were fortunate in that we sold our city-centre home a few months ago with the intention of renting for a while while we looked for a slightly bigger house a few miles out the country. We have now seen a lovely property, consisting of a "builders-finish" house which we are considering purchasing. This property was completed in 2006. This house has never been lived in so we would be the first occupiers. The interior was never fitted out internally so there is no bathroom, kitchen or heating system, with some plumbing work to be done. There are other bits & pieces outstanding but nothing major. We would be getting a full structural survey done before going ahead with the purchase.

I requested from the estate agent and was provided with the local authority planning application for the house, granted in early 2004.

My question relates to one specific planning criteria clause in this document, which states that "the house, when completed, shall be first occupied, as a place of permanent residence, by the applicant and shall remain so occupied thereafter for a minimum of 5 years".

As we are not the "applicant", if we went ahead with the house purchase, could the local authority turn around and say that this was in breach of the planning criteria (i.e. the PP applicant was not the first occupier and did not reside there for 5 yrs) and cause us problems or force us to sell?

I think (but could be completely wrong) that there is some length of time in which the local authority can raise objections (5 / 7 yrs??) to breach of planning criteia, which if added to the date of granting of PP (2004 + 5 or 7 yrs) would mean that by the time we moved in (in a few months) it would be too late for them for object? Does anyone have any thoughts on this, or am I completely off the mark, and would it be a huge risk to go ahead with the purchase?

Many thanks for reading and if you've any thoughts whatsover, I'd appreciate them.

jetski

Give the council a quick phone call... id get their answer in writing if i were you

gombeen99

Thanks for the above comment - I rang the particular county council this afternoon (who are noted for their "stickiness" on planning regulations), and they said that yes, even without knowing any specific details re names or locations, it would be a breach of planning, and could result in a court appearance. However, the person I spoke to said that the council might find it hard to prove that the initial applicant had not lived in the house for 5 years, inferring that I could maybe get around it that way.

The downside to this is that while it might "prove" that the house had indeed been previously occupied (from date of construction to date of sale - which would be 5 yrs) and that I therefore couldn't be the first occupier, I assume it would result in stamp duty payable on a "second hand house".

Fozzie Bear

If the council wanted to be sticky about it could they not find out if the house had been occupied previously from things like the ESB being connected or 5 years worth of various bills? It would be pretty easy I think to find out this stuff if they wanted too. Raises questions too as you say regarding stamp duty and I don't think the bank/mortgage provider would allow something like this to go through, assuming you have a mortgage.

I was in a similar position with a house outside Claregalway we looked at. Almost identical to your description above but we were advised to forget about it. The enurement clause stated it had to be previously occupied (i think for 7 years) or else I needed to be a local with a housing need (and prove this), a farmer or returning emmigrant to buy it legally now. Waaaay too much hassle involved buying a house like this.

EKRIUQ

Firstly no good solicitor would let this sale go through but there is a way of getting around this but it's not straight forward. You have to get an exemption letter for the council to waiver this clause. Now that's not going to be easy but has been done, firstly check to see if any of the other conditions restrict you owning this house the main one being are you from the area?(Within 10km).

Then go to the council saying you meet all the conditions in the planning but can't find any other suitable properties give reasons, work, family, size of house etc.. get a professional to write the letter and look for that clause to be wavered. Also a local county councillor on your case would also help.

gombeen99

There's definitely no chance of getting an exemption from this particular local authority, expecially considering we're not locals. Also, it would be too easy for the council to prove that noone had lived in the house (for a single day, not to mind 5 years!) if they really wanted, and while they hopefully wouldn't bother, they COULD if someone complained (e.g. a neighbour who waited years and jumped hurdles before getting planning in that area while us blow-ins just moved into a nice house). Thanks for all your comments, looks like this is one to walk away from. Disappointing, but too many potential negatives. Thanks everyone.

Patrickof

As a valuer, I have been informed by the various banks etc. to highlight this clause when present in any PP that we are doing a valuation for.

Usually, we only see the PP if the house is at the early stages of construction, (when there's no physical house to view) so the valuation is carried out from the PP drawings.

However, all banks ask us to highlight any potential PP issues on any valuation, so this clause will cause problems for your lending institution, as well as you solicitor as mentioned earlier.

handcontrol2

This is all very interesting as I am now facing something similar, I am interested in buying a site in Co. Clare and there is FPP on it but after looking at the conditions it appears that the house will have to be built on by the owner (the seller of the site) and lived in for 7 years. Is there any way around this can I buy the site and build the house myself, Any thoughts?

Victor

handcontrol2 wrote: »

This is all very interesting as I am now facing something similar, I am interested in buying a site in Co. Clare and there is FPP on it but after looking at the conditions it appears that the house will have to be built on by the owner (the seller of the site) and lived in for 7 years. Is there any way around this can I buy the site and build the house myself, Any thoughts?

Apply for the exact same planning permission, but with your name on it.

b4boxer

We bought a new bungalow in the Coosan area of Athlone.

We engaged a surveyor to look at the property. The report contained a Planning & Development section. It covered conditions of the grant of Planning and also went through potential to develop. This incluses external extensions and internal changes.

Our home is 2000 sq M, the inspection and report cost €425, money well spent.

danbohan

handcontrol2 wrote: »

This is all very interesting as I am now facing something similar, I am interested in buying a site in Co. Clare and there is FPP on it but after looking at the conditions it appears that the house will have to be built on by the owner (the seller of the site) and lived in for 7 years. Is there any way around this can I buy the site and build the house myself, Any thoughts?

you might not get planning depends if you fulfill the criteria . this placing of conditions by the councils where people had live for a period of years is discriminatory at best and bordering on illegal .

Patrickof

Victor wrote: »

Apply for the exact same planning permission, but with your name on it.

I'm not sure you need to make the full application again.

Part of the planning process is to ensure that the house is suitable for the location, not out of character etc etc.

Non of these factors will change, just the owner.

I believe you only need to formally request from the council that the planning can be transferred to you, not re-submit the whole thing again.

I'm not sure if this is well defined though, so various councils may have a different view on this.