Four-year planning enforcement limit

[nask70]

is it true if you build sometihng without planning, then after four yrs the council is unable to do anything due to the time scale. if this is true is their legislation to prove this. thanks

[jeffrey]

Sort of. There's a 4-yr limit on proceedings of certain types- s.171B of Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Other types have a 10-yr limit under that provision.

[pdk]

Building and engineering works are lawful after 4 years without enforcement action, residential uses 4 years all other uses 10 years. No time bar on listed building alterations... Please don't let this encourage you to go into a breach of planning situation!!!

Regards,

PETER

NOTE: Peter Kyte BSC (Hons) DipTP MRTPI CGeog is an official LandlordZONE Topic Expert… For more information on Peter D Kyte Associates and Enabling Projects please see the websites at http://www.enablinguk.com and http://www.development-seekers.com. Any advice given by Peter Kyte in this Forum is of a general nature only and should not be taken to be a final and binding planning opinion. Based on any initial advice given you are strongly advised to seek a further professional opinion, which may involve a site visit and a detailed analysis of the issues... For information on the sort of work Peter undertakes please see TRACK RECORD (http://www.enablinguk.com/track.html), WORKING WITH INVESTORS (http://www.enablinguk.com/ur-property-investors-planning.html), and PROJECT TYPES (http://www.enablinguk.com/planning-project-permission-appeal-UK.html)...

[Richard Webster]

Another wrinkle you need to watch is that particularly if you are extending an existing house built in say the last 25 years, there may be a planning condition for the original construction taking away the standard "permitted development" tolerances that allow small extensions subject to certain conditions, without permission. If you build in breach of that you are building in breach of condition and you have to wait 10 years for that to be immune!

[jeffrey]

Also, there's no time limit for certain breaches of Building Act Regulations.
Messrs Attey Bower & Jones, South Yorkshire solicitors, were unfortunate enough to have to pay damages when one of their clients was lumbered with unwelcome liablilty for breaches on a purchase which they handled.

[Pat]

Why is it, then, that when my pal sold her house she had to get an indemnity policy because the owner before her had built an extension in the 1970'sand hadn't got planning permission? Why wasn't that extension immune from enforcement?

[jeffrey]

Even if it was, that comforts only the owner/vendor (V). How can V make P accept it? P will demand the insurance or won't buy at all.