Building Warrant.

[Matthew wakefield]

Hello I got full retrospective planning for a conversion I did on an old building on my land. During the Covid outbreak They now say I need a building Warrant

2500 for architect 3000 to council plus 500 admin fee. They say it needs ripping it back to stone for more insulation !!.

so my question is what would happen if I did not get the warrant. It was originally intended for rental for extra cash. But my ms has worsened so it now lays empty my son comes every couple of months. I have no funds to pay for it to be completed I’m on benefits because I’ve had to stop working. Some one we know say it would just become classed has an annex and if I ever sold the house it would have to be declared I doubt this to be true any advice would be appreciated.

[Kelvin]

It would have to be declared. If you didn’t and sold it and then it was discovered after the fact the new owner could sue you for any costs. However, it’s more likely to be discovered during the conveyancing process and could make your house unsellable. 

[JohnMo]

Or the council could order you to take it down i.e. deconstruction 

[Matthew wakefield]

It’s not part of the house it’s a few hundred feet away. So it will not have any effect on the property value. It’s just an out building. Plus the building was already there I’ve not added to it at tall. The windows and doors were replaced. Electric done etc I just used super quilt behind the plaster and roof. The issue is I can no longer afford to rip it down and start again. My Multiple sclerosis has advanced so the question is what will the council do. I don’t rent it out it’s on no sites it’s just empty seems a waste.

[Kelvin]

Your property is sold as a whole though. House, land, outbuildings therefore the issue still stands. To remedy this will cost money therefore it will affect the value of your property. Anyone buying your house will  estimate how much it will cost to make this good and reduce their offer by that much. 
 

Normally you can take out an insurance indemnity for such things but because you’ve notified (or been notified by the council) you now won’t be able to. As far as what the council will do like @JohnMosays they could issue an enforcement order I guess telling you to either make good or remove the work done. They might do nothing of course but unlikely. If that’s the case the other option is to leave it until you come to sell. Declare it then and factor the cost to remedy into the value of the sale. Your cheapest option is very likely to ask someone locally to come and do the minimum required to take the building back to the state it was in before you started the work.
 

It is a waste but you changed a building without seeking planning approval and a building warrant first. These are the rules we all have to play by.
 

Speak to building standards, explain your health situation and ask them what is the minimum you need to do to unwind the building back to its previous state. You might find them more reasonable than you expect. The people I’ve dealt with in my ward have been nothing but helpful. 
 

Sorry to hear all of this though. Can’t be easy to deal with. 

Edited June 25 by Kelvin

[Matthew wakefield]

Thank you Kelvin for your advice I’m going to do just that. If I have to strip it back to the level that suits them I’ll have to do 

just that. Thanks again Matt W