You do not have to own land to seek for planning authorization. This implies you can seek approval before determining whether or not to purchase a plot of property. However, if you do decide to buy a piece of land later on, it will be difficult to obtain planning permission for any development projects that may arise while you are still renting.
It is advisable to plan your project first and see what type of planning permission you will need before you invest in any property. For example, if you want to build a house then you should look into the requirements for residential planning permission. Similarly, if you want to change the use of an existing building or site then you will need planning permission for this too. Without planning your project would be illegal which could lead to a lot of trouble when trying to sell or rent out your property later on.
It is also important to note that not all planning applications require you to own the land you are planning to develop. For example, if you want to extend your current house by building a new section onto your garage then you will need planning permission for this too. However, you do not need to own the property whose planning permission you need; you just need to have rights over it.
Surprisingly, you do not have to be the landowner to submit a planning application. You do not need the owner's permission; simply serve the required notice on them. Because the permission refers to the land rather than the application or owner, it might be implemented by anybody. For example, a neighbour may agree to act as an agent for the applicant by submitting plans and notices on their behalf.
The required period for notification depends on the type of development but is usually between 12 months and 3 years. If you want to keep your options open, it's best to give yourself plenty of time: just under 5 years is recommended.
Planning applications can be quite detailed and require evidence from other people in order to prove that your project will comply with relevant laws. It is important that you find out about the specific requirements for your kind of plan before starting work on it. For example, if your plan is to build a house, then you will need to submit plans that show how the building will fit in with its environment and other structures, including nearby buildings and trees. This evidence should be based on facts and figures that date back no more than 20 years. If anyone questions your evidence, then you will need to provide more information or additional studies.
Your local council or district council will review your application and decide whether to grant you approval.
You may check for planning authorization before purchasing. You may check the local council's website to discover whether the home you wish to buy has any planning approval for future developments or for some of the house's structural elements. If it does not, you can be sure that there will be no problems with planning this particular house.
If the house you want to build is not yet approved, you should discuss with your architect or designer possible solutions to ensure that the plan is as compliant as possible with local planning regulations. If an inspector from the local authority visits the site during construction, he or she will be able to tell whether you have followed the recommendations made by your architect or designer and can issue a certificate of compliance. This document will prove to any potential buyer that building has been approved by authorities and it gives them confidence that they are not buying something illegal.
The process of getting planning permission can be very time-consuming. It is recommended to start this procedure as early as possible in order to have more time to complete it. In many cases, it takes several months just to obtain a visit from the planning officer. During this time, you cannot sell or rent out the property. You also need to make sure that you don't violate any of the rules set by planning officers because these violations can lead to the cancellation of the authorisation.
No. "It is not an offense to carry out development without first getting the necessary planning approval" (PPG18 Para 6). It is usually only after an enforcement notice is issued against you that living on land becomes unlawful.
In fact, under current UK planning law you cannot be prosecuted for living in a house built without planning permission. The only time this might change is if building work starts and is not finished within three months; or if you use part of your home as a hotel, B&B or similar business.
If you are asked to stop living on the land then it is advisable to do so before being asked, as later may make things difficult for you.
Planning permission is required for any building work over 10,000 square feet (929 m2), but there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you are carrying out repair and restoration work to existing buildings then you do not need permission. You also do not need permission if the building work does not involve any new structures and you can show that the land was used for agricultural purposes until recently.
However, even if you fall into one of these categories you should still get planning permission. If building work has been done without consent then this could affect the value of other people's properties, which would be unfair.