1966 house above garage built years ago no record.

tom1ie · 17-09-2023 7:30pm #1

Hi all,

we live in a 1966 house and above the garage was built as an extension years ago- I don’t know when and when we bought the house the solicitor said there was no record of it and it wouldn’t be an issue unless we planned on selling it- which we don’t for years to come.

My question is there is a certain size of extension you can build without PP (subject to other requirements)- I can’t remember the size, but would the above garage extension come out of that allowance?

eg the above garage extension is 5x3=15m2 so if the allowance is 40m2 should I only be building an extension of 40-15= 25m2? (If I don’t want to apply for PP that is).

thanks for any advice.

muffler · 17-09-2023 8:03pm

Where's the garage located? Side or rear of the house? Has it been converted?

tom1ie · 17-09-2023 8:47pm

The garage is on the side of the house and the extension is built on top of the garage.

The garage is still a garage but the room above it is a bedroom.

muffler · 17-09-2023 9:16pm

There is no exemption for building a domestic extension to the side of a house so planning would be required.

Apart from that Im surprised your solicitor allowed the sale to go through without proper certification or the necessary permission. They just allowed you to buy a problem.

tom1ie · 17-09-2023 9:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124021#Comment_121124021

No I’m not looking to build onto the side of the house.

The garage was built along with the house in 1966.

Above the garage was built sometime in the 70s we think (from talking to neighbours).

There are no records of this in the planning office which apparently is quite common according to the solicitor.

We are potentially looking at building out the back of the house- but are wondering do we have the full exemption amount (not sure how much that is 49m2?) or exemption amount minus the bit above the garage.

muffler · 17-09-2023 10:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124057#Comment_121124057

Im referring to the extension that has already been built above the garage. That would require or would have required planning permission. If it hasnt benifitted from a grant of permission then it is classed as an unauthorised development.

The maximum exempted size for a domestic extension to the rear of a house is 40m2. In your case you will need to deduct the area of the side extension from that. This is a 2 storied house Im assuming so unless its fully detached you wont be able to build any more than 12m2 above ground floor level to keep within the exemption conditions. See the official details of the exemptions here.

Gumbo · 17-09-2023 10:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058314224/1966-house-above-garage-built-years-ago-no-record

There are no exemptions for what you have. And because the house is in a state of non compliance, you cannot enjoy the exemptions for the rear extension (40 Sq. M). Minus any other exempted extensions/conversions.

You need to apply for retention permission now to regularize it.

When you bought it, someone obviously slipped up by not informing you of the issue as it will be picked up nowadays.

Last week, I seen a house sale fall through as the BER Cert was checked against the register and the Cert was never published for some reason. The seller had a Cert etc but it was not valid.

That was good legal practice and someone doing their job properly.

tom1ie · 17-09-2023 11:42pm

Thanks all.

Im going to have to look into it with the solicitor we used to purchase the property over 10 years ago!

HorseSea · 18-09-2023 12:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124343#Comment_121124343

If the solicitor you used ten years ago did not think this was a problem, I don't think they are best placed to advise you now, I would be looking elsewhere for a solicitor and maybe returning to the original solicitor when you have some solid advise and ask the original solicitor what he was thinking!