retrospective planning permission?

[leedseagle]

my gf and i are buying a flat but there's a problem with it.

the owner has extended it without planning permission and has subsequently been asked to return it to its original state.

i wonder though if we can simply apply for retrospective planning permission, as you can in the uk, and leave it as it is?

a quick google didn't tell me...

[Skyhook]

If the building department are aware of illegal modifications, basically its already in the system, and I'd check the title to see if there is a notification mentioned, because if you are borrowing money from the bank, and they discover there is a building department notice on the title, they won't lend on the property.

If you are not borrowing money to buy the property, then it may not matter until you decide to sell to a buyer who needs to borrow to buy, but I'd check with your lawyer who will handle your conveyancing. Better to be on the safe side, or you may face difficulty when you wish to sell.(later down the track )

We have bought property with ( non dangerous ) illegal structures before, but they hadn't progressed to the point of having a BD notification listed on the title, which never hindered our purchase or sale later on.

Sorry I couldn't add any further info than that.

[Oldtimer]

If you buy, then the department will force you to modify and pay for it. If you dont they will put a lien on the property.

[AlexandraF]

I doubt you will be able to get retrospective planning permission and I really don't think that you can just ignore the order either, unfortunately.

We bought a house that had (actually still has) a work order placed on it by the lands dept. The developer tried to build a swimming pool in the garden without planning permission. The swimming pool was filled in with soil to return it to it's original state. Four months after we bought the house it still hasn't been lifted. It is starting to get annoying as nobody will give us any timeline on when it is likely to be lifted so that we can sort our garden out (currently looks like a building site).

What we did, though, was make a deal with the developer (ours was a new build so it would be the owner of the house in your case) whereby we hold back a portion of the house payment until the work order is lifted. It is now their responsibility to sort it out with the lands department, and in their interests to push it through as soon as they can.

[Ewok]

Unlikely you would be able to get planning permissio for it anyway as there is probably no square footage left on the site, and also the illegal structures are very very very unlikely to be considered to be structurally sound by BD, so wouldn't be possible to get approved.

Don't buy it. Sounds like a huge headache

[leedseagle]

as it stands, we've agreed to buy and the owner has agreed to return it to it's original state. we'll just hold some money back should he not do this.

the bank knows the address and has agreed (verbally) the mortgage. though it sounds as though when we come to sign stuff we might have a bit of an issue on our hands.

cheers for the replies