If development has taken place where planning permission is required but not obtained then the development may become the subject of investigation and enforcement action by the Local Authority. This can cause problems such as significantly holding up or even losing the sale or purchase of a property and can lead to a court summons if an enforcement notice is served and not complied with, even if it was not you who did the work.
What should you do if you think the works need planning permission? - Property owners
- Stop any building work immediately
- Make yourself aware of the possible planning enforcement issues
- Check if the development requires planning permission
- Check if the development requires Building Regulations.
- Make the necessary applications for planning permission and/or building regulations if they are required (either a retrospective application for planning permission or a lawfulisation certificate. Please refer to the Planning Portal
for your applicationforms. We will require all fees and plans as per an ordinary application). Retrospective applications for Buidling Regulations can also be made.
What should you do if the property concerned does not belong to you? - Prospective purchasers:
If you are currently in the process of purchasing a property where development undertaken there may have required planning permission or Building Regulations consent we would advise you to:
- Check the planning history of the property on Planning Online (permission may have already been sought)
- Check with us whether permissions are required (the works may have been permissible under permitted development)
- Any further action should be undertaken following the advice of a professional conveyancer. Most property purchases involve the undertaking of a Local Land Charges Search and this is the most thorough way of gaining information about the development history of an address.
We have provided further assistance for finding out the planning history of an address on our 'Find Out About the Development History of a Property' page.
If you wish to find out more about works undertaken without planning approval - Third parties:
- Check the planning history of the property on Planning Online (permission may have already been sought)
- Torbay Council will investigate all of the enquiries it receives about unauthorised development. However, if you believe that development requiring planning permission is being undertaken/has been undertaken then we would first advise you to search the planning history of an address on Planning Online before contacting Planning Investigation as, in some cases, planning permission may have been sought/be currently being sought from Torbay Council for the development. Please also note that in some cases the development may fall within nationally defined permitted development rights and thus not require planning permission.
Related Websites
Contact
- Email: planning@torbay.gov.uk
- Tel: 01803 207801
- Fax: 01803 208858
