Apartment planning permission & title matters

touchdown77

Lets say an apartment owner in a complex applies for planning permission to convert some attic space to a habitable room, rather than the management company applying for planning, does this effect the compliance & title for all the other apartments in the complex?

godtabh

Planning permission should be invalidated if the consent of the mamangement company isn’t given. In many cases the apartment owner doesn’t own this space. There could also be a clause in lease stating no alterations.

touchdown77

godtabh wrote: »

Planning permission should be invalidated if the consent of the mamangement company isn’t given. In many cases the apartment owner doesn’t own this space. There could also be a clause in lease stating no alterations.

Should the planning application be in the name of the management company rather than the apartment owner because it involves common area that the mgmt company owns? or is consent good enough?

I think you're missing a step here. The apartment owner almost certainly doesn't own the attic space. If that's the case they can neither seek planning, nor can they actually convert the attic at all.

godtabh

i've dealt with this a number of times.

Its easy to make an application but it could be invalidated. It maybe missed by the LA but you would still need consent to do the works which would be unlikely.

You may get planning and proceed with the works without consent. The management company may then soon and you may not be in a position to sell the unit.

One lad in our development did all that and despite many many legal letters went ahead. The conversion cost about €20k. The solicitor fees, engineers fees and the cost for restoring is at least double that.

touchdown77

Thanks for the replies so far but I'm not explaining it correctly, the question more accurately is

'should planning permission be in the name of the management company for all changes to area owned by the management company?'

In this example the apartment owner has the consent of the management company to convert the attic and make it part of the apartment but I'm thinking that for correct title, the permission should be in the name of the mgmt company not the apartment owner....or does it really matter from a title perspective?

Del2005

touchdown77 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far but I'm not explaining it correctly, the question more accurately is

'should planning permission be in the name of the management company for all changes to area owned by the management company?'

In this example the apartment owner has the consent of the management company to convert the attic and make it part of the apartment but I'm thinking that for correct title, the permission should be in the name of the mgmt company not the apartment owner....or does it really matter from a title perspective?

Shouldn't the OMC be applying for the change not the appointment owner? As the OMC own the building they would need apply for permission.

I can only see this being a nightmare for the other owners.

touchdown77

Del2005 wrote: »

Shouldn't the OMC be applying for the change not the appointment owner? As the OMC own the building they would need apply for permission.

I can only see this being a nightmare for the other owners.

Thats what I'm asking


Otherwise each apartment owner has to rely on other apartment owners for proper planning and other compliance e.g. fire certs etc.....

Either party can apply. If the apartment owner applies they will require a letter of consent from the management company.

Victor

A lot of it will be down to who is entitled to use the space and for what, i.e. what does the apartment owner's lease from the OMC say about the attic?

A slightly different case, but shop tenants in a shopping centre would often apply for planning permission in their own name, with a letter of consent provided by the unit owner and/or the shopping centre OMC. Such a planning permission may include adding a storage platform over the shop unit (many shop units have a height of about 5.5. metres). This consent would normally be qualified that it only permits the tenant to apply for planning permission - it won't deal with lease issues, insurances, fees, etc. involved in the construction and the tenant will need to sort these before commencing work on site.