timn1423

Thanks all! I think I'll start out by getting some estate agent valuations and asking for their opinion on the difference in valuation between it being a 1 bed with garden room vs a 2 bed. Based on that I'll talk to either a lawyer or the planning office.

In terms of exact leverage, I'm not sure. But I know that the previous owner had originally marketed the flat as a 2 bedroom and then after some intervention from the freeholders, that fell through and the seller was forced to relist as a 1 bedroom and drop the price. But I'm really not sure if there was an exact legal basis for that or if it was just one of the overzealous freeholders overreaching and scaring off the potential buyer when in fact there's no real issue with the room. There are no obvious issues with the room itself. It has large double glazed windows and an external door, there are no significant hazards although as stated, I'm not in a flood risk area. It probably wouldn't meet current regs related to insulation and I don't know enough about the building materials used to know how closely it'd meet other regs. But if the planning granted was sufficient for the room to be used as a bedroom at the time and regs didn't apply at the time, then I can't see what basis they might have to object.

Thanks for your thoughts. What I'm not sure about is whether the permission granted would have allowed for the room to be a bedroom from the outset or not, in which case, there would have been no 'conversion'. I guess the ideal is to be compliant with regs at all times, but as I understand it, there is no enforcement on historic work based on newer regs? If the planning was indeed sufficient for a bedroom and regs weren't relevant at the time, then I guess I'm all good? I've recently got hold of the planning decision and created a new topic specifically about that. If you have any further thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

This relates to a previous topic, so please see that for some more context. My basement flat had an extension built in 1985. I've got hold of a copy of the planning decision (granted in 1984). I'm trying to figure out whether the permission granted would allow the room to be used as a bedroom or if a change of use application would be required. The plans submitted with the application label the room as 'new garden room', but there's no other reference to use. The decision seems entirely boiler plate, there's no mention at all of what the intended use of the room is and there are no restrictions or conditions listed that relate to that. As far as I can tell, the term 'garden room' has no legal definition. So my question is, does a planning decision, particularly one of that era, need to explicitly state that an extension room is or isn't intended to be habitable in order for it to be used as a bedroom? Thanks in advance for your thoughts

But isn't that change of use of the property as a whole? I can't find any mention on the planning website of applications to change the use of a room.

Is there such thing as a 'change of use' for a room? The property has been a self-contained residential flat from prior to the extension to present. So if there were no building regs required at the time it was built and it was used as a bedroom from the outset, then there is no issue with it continuing to be used and listed as a bedroom?

I have a basement garden flat. It was originally a one bedroom but a previous owner built a single story flat roof rear extension. It was sold to me as a ‘one bedroom with garden room’, but in practice, previous owners and myself have used it as a second bedroom. My question is, why can’t it be sold as a two bedroom and what might be needed to allow me to? I have architectural plans for the extension dated February 1985 which have a planning approval stamp. It’s not very well insulated and I doubt it would meet current building regs without additional work but in practice, it’s a perfectly usable bedroom. It’s heated and has large double glazed windows. My understanding is that if an extension was built pre-November 1985, then building regs approval wasn’t required. So in theory my extension should be grandfathered in and be a legal bedroom? The property is share of freehold. When it was sold to me, I know that the seller had initially tried to list it as a two bedroom but the other freeholders insisted that it be listed as a one bedroom instead. Is this simply a matter of me needing to convince my fellow freeholders that I should be allowed to define the property as a two bedroom rather than a matter for building control? Thanks in advance for any advice!