BRITS WASTE £313MILLION ON UNAPPROVED BUILDING WORK
Brits wasted £300 million1 on home building projects last year because they ignored, were unaware of the need for, or misinformed about planning rules.
New research from Direct Line Home Insurance reveals that one in five (20 per cent) Brits don’t know that homeowners are responsible for gaining planning permission.
The research also reveals that unapproved building projects are on the rise with 10 per cent more breaches in planning permission reported in 2005 than the previous year.2
The Direct Line survey results support this trend as almost a quarter (23 per cent) surveyed stated that they would be prepared to put up a conservatory without the proper planning permission.
Building professionals also bear some responsibility for this increase with close to one in ten (7 per cent) building projects in the UK delayed or cancelled3 because a building professional wrongly told the homeowner that planning permission was granted.
In 2005, delayed or aborted projects cost an average of £10,441, which means that an estimated £313million was wasted by homeowners.
Meanwhile, homebuyers are also counting the cost of unapproved building work with 3.5 million reporting that they moved into a new home only to discover unsound or unapproved work. Nearly one in five (18 per cent) found that their loft conversions were not approved, and five per cent garages or carports, after purchasing their home.
Direct Line Home spokesperson Simon Ziviani, comments:
“The extent of unapproved building work is extremely concerning, as are the number of homeowners who appear to be unaware of the rules. Not obtaining planning permission or ensuring that building regulations are complied with may make a property unsaleable and, more seriously, structurally unsound.
“We would advise all homeowners to make sure they are aware of the legal requirements before undertaking any building work.
“We would further advise new homeowners who discover that unapproved building work has been carried out to seek legal advice as they may be entitled to request sellers to seek retrospective planning permission or to correct unapproved works.”
For more information on the rules surrounding building work and planning permission, visit www.planningportal.gov.uk.
Direct Line’s Family Legal Protection offers policyholders access to legal advice on a variety of issues including those relating to home ownership.
-ends-
Top five unapproved projects discovered by homebuyers
Ground floor extensions 16 per cent
Loft conversion 10 per cent
Conservatory 9 per cent
Garage/car port 5 per cent
Partitions (fences, walls) 4 per cent
Tips on avoiding planning pitfalls
1. Discuss everything first – make sure you talk to your neighbours and local council early to avoid complications once works have begun
2. Make sure you have a professional draw up proper plans and have them approved by a building engineer if structural
3. Plan your budget – don’t take the risk of trying to guess the cost yourself. A good move is to ask an estimator to do this for you, such as www.estimators-online.com. You can then work to an appropriate budget
4. Contingency fund – make sure you leave yourself saving in place should the building go over budget, 10-15 per cent is the recommended amount
5. Your responsibility – remember it is best to sort our planning permission yourself. Don’t let builders tell you what does and doesn’t need planning permission
6. Finally, make sure you remember to review your home insurance as renovations and additions may increase the value of your property.
Contacts:
Simon Ziviani / Direct Line Press Office
Tel: 0845 878 2270 / simon.ziviani@directline.com
Notes to editor:
Research –
The research was carried out online between 20th-23rd January 2006. YouGov interviewed a total of 2,025 UK adults aged 18 and above.
1. 200,250 people (1 per cent) started new work in 2005 because they wrongly thought that their builder had secured planning permission. Aborted projects cost an average of £10,441 (source: Direct Line survey) each. 15 per cent of retrospective applications are rejected (source: ODPM). Therefore total wasted in 2005 = (200,250 x 15%) x £10,441 = £313,616,317
2. Source: ODPM website – www.odpm.co.uk
3. 913 people who have recently hired a building professional to undertake major work were asked whether they had been wrongly advised that they had planning permission and had to postpone a project as a result – 7 per cent replied that they had
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