Miss J was buying a large house which was divided into flats. She wanted to sub-divide one of the flats - she didn't think she needed permission. We were able to advise that while internal alterations to a non-listed building didn't need permission, the subdivision of a flat would involve a material change of use and so permission would in fact be required. As a result we saved her from embarking on an expensive project and then facing problems in disposing of the flat because planning wasn't in place.
Dr W was buying a house which had a "granny annex”. There was both a condition and a planning obligation restricting the way it could be used. The sellers told him that he needn't worry about the restriction as it was years old and they had in fact never complied with it. We advised Dr W that while you can gain immunity from enforcement action for breach of a condition after 10 years, you can't gain immunity from a planning obligation in the same way. As a result Dr W paid a reduced price for the house to reflect the fact that he might be prevented from using it as he wished.
Mr and Mrs P were buying a farm with 40 acres of land. Over the previous 40 years or so there had been various businesses and activities at the farm including a cattery, and kennels. Someone had suggested Mr and Mrs P obtain a statutory declaration from the seller confirming the various uses to which the land has been put over the years, but they had been advised that because none of the activities or businesses were still ongoing this would not assist them if the Council ever challenged the use of the land. We advised that they should get a statutory declaration from the elderly seller because if a material change of use subsists for 10 years then the right to the new use crystallizes, and the fact that the use then ceases for a while does not necessarily matter - unless eg it can be shown to have been abandoned. As a result if the use of the land is ever challenged in the future Mr and Mrs P will have evidence to back up a claim for established use.