Inheritance of house with no planning permission

[janeholloway]

Hi,

Unfortunately, my boyfriend's father is currently very ill and might pass away soon, and there are some legal issues to think about that my boyfriend cannot deal with currently due to the emotional strain of the current situation.

If his father does pass away, my boyfriend would inherit his father's house.*However, the problem with this house is that there was a large extension constructed about 2 years ago that did not have planning permission granted. His father, not being from the UK originally and thus not being familiar with UK law, had this built without knowing problems of not getting planning permission.

The extension was of an outdoor shed that was converted to a small house that is double the size of the original shed that had been there for decades.

I have little knowledge on this topic but assume that this is not allowed. If my boyfriend inherits the house he would want to sell it as we don't want to live in the same area.

1.What would be the best solution to this problem, that is selling my boyfriend's father's house that has an extension with no planning permission?

2.Is there a fine to pay to settle the problem - what is the worst that could happen?

3.I have also heard about something called indemnity insurance, which from what I understand, can nullify a local council's authority to have the extension destroyed or a penalty to be paid, is this the case?

Many thanks for the help

[AndrewChapman]

Jane,

I would suggest that the unapproved extension to the property, is the least of your boyfriends problems.

You state that your boyfriend is due to inherit the property from his father, should his father pass away in the near future. How is the property to be inherited, through his fathers Will, or through an intestate estate, ie an estate without a Will?

Who actually owns the property at this moment in time? Is the property owned solely by your boyfriends father, or does he have a wife, partner, etc, etc? If the property is jointly owned with another person you may find that the property transfers on death, and is not distributed in accordance with any Will of the deceased.

If the property is solely owned, and if the property is to be inherited through a will then it will be necessary to obtain a Grant of Probate from the relevant Court before the property can be sold by either the executors of the estate, or distributed to the beneficaries, and then for the beneficaries to sell the property.

The above legal process could easily take 12 months, and costs thousands of pounds in legal fees.

Your boyfriend needs to obtain "good" legal advice now, rather than trying to resolve the situation at some time in the future.