Survey on prospective house: planning permission concern

mkdon

hi there

maybe someone can assist on this without incurring massive solicitor fees

survey on prospective house had said "The driveway has been widened and this requires planning permission and certification. This should be mentioned to your solicitor"
would this present problems? anyone with any prior experience please assist

Askthe EA

mkdon wrote: »

hi there

maybe someone can assist on this without incurring massive solicitor fees

survey on prospective house had said "The driveway has been widened and this requires planning permission and certification. This should be mentioned to your solicitor"
would this present problems? anyone with any prior experience please assist

Ya, so basically the current owners of the house widened the driveway pillars and should have gotten planning for it and your engineer is flagging that for your solicitor. Perhaps they did get planning. This is very common.

Your solicitor will request a certificate of compliance or a declaration of exempted development.

Assuming they did it without permission, they may need to give a stat declaration that the work was carried out more than 7 years ago (once a change has been present for 7 years you cannot be forced to undo it).

The banks own legal department will then look at the situation. Worse case, the current owners must pay for the wall to be put back to its original condition.

Claw Hammer

More likely the owners would put in a special condition in the contract saying that you have to take as is.

mkdon

Claw Hammer wrote: »

More likely the owners would put in a special condition in the contract saying that you have to take as is.

what would that mean at my end .... applying fit planning permission at my end?

Askthe EA

mkdon wrote: »

what would that mean at my end .... applying fit planning permission at my end?

It really depends on your banks take on the situation which comes down to your LTV. The current owners may have to apply for retention to sell to you and if they are unwilling you may not be able to buy.

On the other hand, if it was done years ago and your LTV is lower its therefore less of a risk to the bank and they might be ok with it.

Gumbo

mkdon wrote: »

what would that mean at my end .... applying fit planning permission at my end?

You or the current owner will need to apply for Retention Planning Permission to keep the widened vehicular entrance.

If your solicitor picks up on it, then he has to let the bank know that the title is not planning compliant and the bank will refuse to release the funds.

Depending on location and the actual width of the gates, retention should be straight forward, but you'll have to pay a planning agent to prepare the planning application and wait the 3 months or so for the final grant.

mkdon

kceire wrote: »

You or the current owner will need to apply for Retention Planning Permission to keep the widened vehicular entrance.

If your solicitor picks up on it, then he has to let the bank know that the title is not planning compliant and the bank will refuse to release the funds.

Depending on location and the actual width of the gates, retention should be straight forward, but you'll have to pay a planning agent to prepare the planning application and wait the 3 months or so for the final grant.

I am confused about this

this will delay the entire process right ?

Claw Hammer

mkdon wrote: »

I am confused about this

this will delay the entire process right ?

Delay or abort it entirely.

Askthe EA

Claw Hammer wrote: »

Delay or abort it entirely.

Indeed. Speak to your solicitor, theyre bound to have dealt with this before.

Gumbo

mkdon wrote: »

I am confused about this

this will delay the entire process right ?

Yes.

mkdon

kceire wrote: »

Yes.

do you have previous experience ? how much did it delay it for u

Askthe EA

mkdon wrote: »

do you have previous experience ? how much did it delay it for u

He cant answer that. It depends on your own situation. If planning is required and the vendor is agreeable to applying for retention then it will delay it by about 3 months.

If your solicitor doesnt believe its an issue, it wont hold you up at all. Ask your solicitor.

Gumbo

mkdon wrote: »

do you have previous experience ? how much did it delay it for u

I'm usually the one called in to regularize it.

If the vendor wants to sort the issue out, he will most likely spend a week getting quotes from Architects, Planning Agents etc

The Planning Agent will take 2 weeks to allow for survey of the site, preparation of the plans, arrangement of newspaper notices, maps and printing and finally lodgement and erection of the site notice.

Then a decision will be made 8 weeks later.
4 weeks after that, the final grant is issued and then the house can be sold as the during those 4 weeks, an appeal can be sent to An Board Pleanala by an adjoining landowner, even if they haven't objected to the original Planning Application.

MagicBusDriver1

How wide is the driveway? If it is over 3.6 m, it will need to be narrowed if you are to regularise the situation.

Gumbo

MagicBusDriver1 wrote: »

How wide is the driveway? If it is over 3.6 m, it will need to be narrowed if you are to regularise the situation.

3.6 is the max as per Dublin City Councils Development Plan, but, they may condition it narrower depending on the streetscape and street in question.

Markcheese

kceire wrote: »

3.6 is the max as per Dublin City Councils Development Plan, but, they may condition it narrower depending on the streetscape and street in question.

Max for the driveway is 3.6 meters, or max for the entrance (and dishing of pavement) is 3.6?

Gumbo

Markcheese wrote: »

Max for the driveway is 3.6 meters, or max for the entrance (and dishing of pavement) is 3.6?

Max for the vehicular entrance within the front boundary.

The pavement dishing is done by the R&T Department and they generally will match the entrance in place. It is not part of the Planning, nor is planning required for the dishing of the public footpath. That's an after job that you pay the council to do once planning / retention is in place.

L1011

I'd never been aware there was a limit to the width - does this mean that people who tar/gravel/cobblelock the entire front are in breach? Or is it just the opening that's limited?

As far as I know my estate was built with US-like fully open lawns and 90% of people have since built fences or walls. My fence was rotting away and after checking with the neighbours I took it down entirely so it's back to open - or open for the first time if I'm wrong. If it had been fenced from day 1 / on plans would this be in breach?

4ensic15

L1011 wrote: »

I'd never been aware there was a limit to the width - does this mean that people who tar/gravel/cobblelock the entire front are in breach? Or is it just the opening that's limited?

Up to 2 car spaces can be covered without planning permission. Any further coverage needs planning.

Rew

Is planning required to narrow a vehicular entrance?

Gumbo

L1011 wrote: »

I'd never been aware there was a limit to the width - does this mean that people who tar/gravel/cobblelock the entire front are in breach? Or is it just the opening that's limited?

As far as I know my estate was built with US-like fully open lawns and 90% of people have since built fences or walls. My fence was rotting away and after checking with the neighbours I took it down entirely so it's back to open - or open for the first time if I'm wrong. If it had been fenced from day 1 / on plans would this be in breach?

The planning relates to the widening of the entrance itself, not the hard surfacing of the internal garden, but, in some cases I’ve done, the planner will condition a small % of self landscaping in order to keep some natural drainage in place.

Rew wrote: »

Is planning required to narrow a vehicular entrance?

Technically, yes. Any alteration to a vehicular entrance requires planning.

GoWhest

This happened to me last year when I was buying. Drive was put in without planning. Solicitor asked for a affidavit from the vendors to say it had been there for more than 7 years. He then wrote to the bank and asked them if they were okay with it, which they were. It caused a delay of about 3 weeks. After the sale concluded I called Dublin city council about getting dishing. Thought I would need retention but they said if I send them a copy of the affidavit and pay the fee they'd do it.

Gumbo

GoWhest wrote: »

This happened to me last year when I was buying. Drive was put in without planning. Solicitor asked for a affidavit from the vendors to say it had been there for more than 7 years. He then wrote to the bank and asked them if they were okay with it, which they were. It caused a delay of about 3 weeks. After the sale concluded I called Dublin city council about getting dishing. Thought I would need retention but they said if I send them a copy of the affidavit and pay the fee they'd do it.

Once you provide the affidavit, they will dish the path no problem. Obviously charge you the 750e give or take.

The issue arises if its reported, the planning enforcement will open a file. They will quickly close it it due to been there 7 years, but then you go to sell again, and the search shows up previous enforcement actions and the site remains non planning compliant.

It may stop a sale, or it may not as in your case, it totally depends on the lending bank.