Whether you are a property owner looking to extend or alter your home or purchasing with a view to carrying out building works in the future, Planning Permission and Building Regulations are something you need to consider.
As lawyers we see many properties with various works carried out without all the relevant Planning Permissions and/or Building Regulations. This, of course, can delay matters during the Conveyancing process, which nobody wants.
Not all works require Planning Permission or Building Regulations. Planning Permission tends to deal with the exterior of a property, whilst Building Regulations are a separate issue and are more concerned with the building standards and structural works both internally and externally.
The Planning Portal is a really useful tool that uses an interactive house to advise as to the Planning and Building Regulations required for each section of a house.
Finally, if you do have building works carried out and obtain the necessary permissions and consents, it is really important to keep copies and pass these to your lawyer at the time of sale. This will save you the time and expense of obtaining further copies from the Local Authority.
