Renovating Property Checklists

Want to know more about the 4 Year Rule?  If you need a formal decision from your council to show that your existing use or development is lawful, then you can submit an application for Certificate of Lawfulness, known as 4 Year Rule Planning. Ever wonder how landlords convert their houses into a number of flats without first seeking planning permission? Ever wonder how restaurateurs convert A1 Retail Shops into A3 Restaurants without first seeking planning permission? Read on to find out.

Normally around this time of year the market is buoyant, in fact looking back over past reports, I was often saying post the credit crunch the market was a ‘game of two halves’ with the first half of the year rising, and the second half of the year falling back. So far this year, prices have pretty much ‘limped along’ from one month to the next showing little growth. 

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Standing back from all the uncertainty in the news and looking at the property market indices this month, it’s a miracle the market is still performing so well. And despite some worries and wobbles from London and the South East, and of course Aberdeen’s continued decline in both prices and rents, it’s good to see that Hometrack is reporting “All cities recording positive house price growth” up by 2.8% year on year. And there seems to be more good news on the way with London prices turning positive (+0.4%) after a poor few years.