Converted Annex Case Study

Case Study

A domestic out-building within the grounds of a house had been converted into an annexe in the 1990s. A legal agreement had been prepared by the Council to ensure the annexe remained ancillary to the main house. Some years later, the owners began to use it for holiday lettings, and then privately let on a shorthold tenancy arrangement.

The owner contacted us for advice on how to regularise the use of the annexe and discharge the legal agreement. We subsequently prepared an application for a Lawful Development Certificate for use of the annexe as a separate dwelling unrestricted to occupiers under the ‘10 year rule’. This was on the basis of a continuous breach of the legal agreement, which has subsisted for well over 10 years. The application was successfully approved, and shortly afterward the legal agreement was discharged.