Do we need to apply for a change of use

peposhi

Hi, All

We are currently renting a property where we have our Play Therapy centre (size of one bedroom apartment).
We got approved for a loan to buy a property (not a mortgage) and found a 2 bedroom terraced house (about 10 houses in that row) where we wish to relocate out business.

Play Therapy is not a crèche or child minding service where you have requirements set by the law and government.
The easiest way I could describe it is - counselling for children based on one on one sessions.
Therefore whenever you work with a client - it does not affect the neighborhood.
The question is - do we need to apply for a change of the property use?
There will be little to no changes downstairs where the therapy room will be.One of the rooms upstairs will be used for an office/waiting room and the second will still be used as a bedroom.

Gumbo

My opinion is planning, fire cert and DAC.
You will have members of th public visiting a premise that the layout is unknown to them so the above applies.

The requirements are easily met tbh but the process has to be followed.

*unless there are specific exemptions for the proposed use. You may get a planning exemption but fire cert and DAC may still be required.

peposhi

kceire wrote: »

My opinion is planning, fire cert and DAC.
You will have members of th public visiting a premise that the layout is unknown to them so the above applies.

The requirements are easily met tbh but the process has to be followed.

*unless there are specific exemptions for the proposed use. You may get a planning exemption but fire cert and DAC may still be required.

Not sure what DAC stands for, kceire.

Skatedude

peposhi wrote: »

Not sure what DAC stands for, kceire.

designated activity company?

Metric Tensor

Not sure if the above is a joke or a well meaning wrong bit of information:

In this context:
DAC = Disability Access Certificate
FSC = Fire Safety Certificate

peposhi

kceire wrote: »

My opinion is planning, fire cert and DAC.
You will have members of th public visiting a premise that the layout is unknown to them so the above applies.

The requirements are easily met tbh but the process has to be followed.

*unless there are specific exemptions for the proposed use. You may get a planning exemption but fire cert and DAC may still be required.

We went for a 3 bedroom semidetached house. The house is only a shell and we will make some changes to fully connect the living room and the kitchen to convert it to one large Play Therapy room.

Upstairs - we plan to have office, waiting room and meeting room.

I got a surveyor for the property who can also do DAC and FC.
Looking to meet him on Wednesday morning to get the survey done and more info.

Are there any particular questions I need to ask him so we do not get surprised down the route of change of use?

Gumbo

peposhi wrote: »

We went for a 3 bedroom semidetached house. The house is only a shell and we will make some changes to fully connect the living room and the kitchen to convert it to one large Play Therapy room.

Upstairs - we plan to have office, waiting room and meeting room.

I got a surveyor for the property who can also do DAC and FC.
Looking to meet him on Wednesday morning to get the survey done and more info.

Are there any particular questions I need to ask him so we do not get surprised down the route of change of use?

Planning Required.
then Fire Cert and DAC. Make sure he can act as Assigned Certifier under the Building Control Amendment Regulations and sign off.

Mellor

Residential to Commercial, change of use. Planning required.

Charlie-Bravo

Why is it only a shell at the moment? Seems strange.

Long shot guess: sounds like it may be a unit in a development that was designated for a crèche but never got used. Happens in developments from the Celtic Tiger era when planners insisted on facilities but they weren't big enough to be financially viable to use.

Mellor

astrofluff wrote: »

Long shot guess: sounds like it may be a unit in a development that was designated for a crèche but never got used. Happens in developments from the Celtic Tiger era when planners insisted on facilities but they weren't big enough to be financially viable to use.

It's a semi detached house not a unit.
I'd guess by the Op's post it's a builders finish rather than a turnkey finish

peposhi

Mellor wrote: »

It's a semi detached house not a unit.
I'd guess by the Op's post it's a builders finish rather than a turnkey finish

I may have not described it correctly.

What I meant was: whoever lived there, before the bank took over, has taken everything out - only built-in wardrobe x 1, toilets, bat tube, shower, heating system, water tank are there.

I looked at the option to do change of use for the ground floor only and keep the first floor as "bedrooms" or "live-in" space...

Had a surveyor the other day. It's a semi-d in good condition he said and ideally I should apply for a pp, but of the records he said - no need to...

So it's even more confusing now...

Gumbo

peposhi wrote: »

I may have not described it correctly.

What I meant was: whoever lived there, before the bank took over, has taken everything out - only built-in wardrobe x 1, toilets, bat tube, shower, heating system, water tank are there.

I looked at the option to do change of use for the ground floor only and keep the first floor as "bedrooms" or "live-in" space...

Had a surveyor the other day. It's a semi-d in good condition he said and ideally I should apply for a pp, but of the records he said - no need to...

So it's even more confusing now...

That Surveyor should be reported to the SCSI for illegal advice IMO.

peposhi

So do 90% of the people I have spoken to so far...

And I don't mean to sound funny

Gumbo

peposhi wrote: »

So do 90% of the people I have spoken to so far...

And I don't mean to sound funny

90% of them recommend you avoid the Planning and Building Control process?

Easiest thing to do is to lodge a Section 5 Application to the Council, they will tell you in writing whether planning is required or not.

It may not remove the requirement for a Fire Safety Cert or DAC (as they are different pieces of legislation) but at least you get an official recommendation.

Mellor

peposhi wrote: »

Had a surveyor the other day. It's a semi-d in good condition he said and ideally I should apply for a pp, but of the records he said - no need to...

Sure, nobody is going to find out you are running a business from the place.
It's not like you are going to advertise it or will be expecting random members of the public to find out about it. :rolleyes:

peposhi

kceire wrote: »

90% of them recommend you avoid the Planning and Building Control process?

Easiest thing to do is to lodge a Section 5 Application to the Council, they will tell you in writing whether planning is required or not.

It may not remove the requirement for a Fire Safety Cert or DAC (as they are different pieces of legislation) but at least you get an official recommendation.

Yep, is it not funny how people actually encourage you not to follow the regulations or at least check what they are I was told on a few occasions - wait and see, go for retention planning permission if needed...

I got the coco planning department email and will get in touch for a pre-planning meeting.
Closing the deal for the property is nowhere near so we have plenty of time to gather all info needed.

peposhi

Mellor wrote: »

Sure, nobody is going to find out you are running a business from the place.
It's not like you are going to advertise it or will be expecting random members of the public to find out about it. :rolleyes:

That's never been the intention.
If we were to hide it - plenty of houses in the middle of the bog where it no one would ever bother checking what you're doing

There would be roughly 20-25 clients weekly so it would definitely be well visible who and when is going...

peposhi

Just to close the thread:

The expected hapended. Neighbors complained directly to us. The house was sold and we found a much better solution since.
Thank you all for the meaningful contribution!