‘Extensions now easier’ for UK investment property

photo credit: Mooganic

Thousands of investment property owners in the UK will now find it easier to make improvements to their assets after a government law change.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said the majority of homeowners will no longer need to get planning permission extend their properties.

Around 80,000 households will now find they are free of administrative delays and costs because of the changes.

The new rules include size limits on permitted extensions designed to “strike the right balance” between allowing people to improve property and protecting neighbours against larger inappropriate or intrusive extensions.

Housing and planning minister Caroline Flint said:

“The changes the government has made will mean about 80,000 households a year no longer have to get planning permission.”

In addition the new changes mean anyone who wants to put in a new driveway or parking area over five square metres will not require planning permission if they use certain surfaces.

The government said extensions and conversions are widely quoted as the best way to increase the value of a property.

Recent surveys found extensions add 12 per cent and loft conversions 11 per cent to a property’s value, the DCLG said.

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