Parsonson Planning Consultancy
A holiday occupancy condition, as the name suggests, is intended to limit occupancy of a dwelling to people on holiday for short term use, rather than allowing permanent occupation as someone’s main home.
This type of condition can be placed on properties which, for various reasons, the Local Planning Authority does not consider to be suitable as someone’s main or sole residence and, as with agricultural occupancy conditions, the wording can vary quite considerably with some being significantly more onerous than others.
As circumstances change, property owners often consider the possibility of removing the holiday occupancy condition so that the dwelling can be (or can continue to be) lived in as someone’s main residence or to make the property more attractive to potential purchasers and maximise the property’s value.
Whilst the majority of our work involves agricultural occupancy conditions, we also deal with holiday occupancy conditions as they are also planning conditions which seek to control how and by whom a dwelling can be occupied. Consequently, there are many similarities in the approach which can be taken when seeking release from them.
Where a property with a holiday occupancy condition has been occupied in breach of the condition for a continuous period of ten years it is often possible to apply for a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use to acknowledge this and recognise that it is Lawful to continue occupying the property in breach of the condition. However, as with agricultural occupancy conditions a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use for breach of a condition does not remove the condition and in certain circumstances the condition could come back into force. Knowing that theoretically a condition can come back into force action can be taken by the property owner to prevent such an occurrence or an application can be made to remove the condition in its entirety.
Increasingly we are being asked to assist with problematic holiday occupancy conditions and we have successfully removed them from a number of properties. However, as with agricultural occupancy conditions, not every holiday occupancy condition can or should be removed. Each case is different requiring a careful and realistic assessment of the circumstances to be undertaken. Determining whether to proceed with an application for condition removal will be heavily dependent upon the wording of the particular condition, the type of property and how it has been used.