Planning enforcement changes could lead to chaos, says Law Society

Proposed changes to the planning system contained in the Localism Bill could unleash “uncertainty and chaos” in the property market, the Law Society has warned.

Chancery Lane pinpointed provisions in the draft legislation that would allow local planning authorities to pursue a planning enforcement order at any time after they become aware that there has been a breach of planning control, and require a property owner to remedy that breach.

Currently, under the Town and Country Planning Act, there are time limits on the taking of planning enforcement. For example, no enforcement action can be taken against development involving the carrying out of operations without planning permission after four years from the date the operations are substantially completed.

But Law Society President Linda Lee warned that the Localism Bill changes could create difficulties for the buyers of both residential and commercial property when they cannot establish whether previous owners have concealed a breach of planning control. The new owners themselves could become liable to enforcement action for that breach at any point in the future, she said.

The Law Society added that if the buyer discovers a concealed breach and then fails to report it, they would be concealing it themselves.

“These reforms could have a serious effect on both the residential and commercial property markets, where innocent purchasers could become liable for the actions of a previous owner,” Lee said.

“This could lead to purchasers demanding that every breach of planning control is remedied or that the price is abated for the risk. It also could delay transactions while enquiries are being made about the planning status of a property.”

Lee suggested that the Bill would increase the level of due diligence buyers would need to do, as there would no longer be a cut-off date. “This could involve buyers incurring considerable expense. It could even necessitate taking out insurance against any unknown potential liability.”

The Law Society President said that while the draft legislation was aimed at “the fraudulent and blatant cheats”, the provisions were drawn “so widely that they will catch anything which has not been expressly pointed out to the planning authority”.

Establishing deliberate concealment is not straightforward, she added. “The new provision is unnecessary – the two cases which have led to these proposals are highly unusual and bizarre.”