Q. I have recently gone sale agreed on a property, an apartment in a relatively new block. I know the property had been leased and is being sold ‘as is’. It will need a bit of TLC. I know that there are a good number of students living in the development, but there are families living there also. I now understand that the development was built as specifically student housing. I intend on living there myself. Will this cause any issues?
Dear Reader,
This may well cause an issue. You should consult with your solicitor who will guide you through the process.
Student-specific accommodation refers to property that was constructed specifically for third level students. There were various tax incentives allowed to owners to make rental more attractive. There were different planning rules for such developments, such as relaxations on minimum floor areas, maximum number of bedrooms, shared bathrooms, and for other shared facilities. The requirements for such accommodation changed over time, and your solicitor should be able to confirm to you what the relevant requirements were at the time of construction.
The difficulty is that the planning permission may confirm that the property is only to be occupied by students. Your occupation of the property, or the rental by you to a non-student, may result in the property being non-complaint with planning permission. No financial institution would extend a mortgage to you to live in a property on such a basis. Of course, you would be limited in who you might sell the property onto, and this may decrease the value of any onward sale.
The fact that others appear to be in breach of planning rules is somewhat immaterial to you. The onus is on you to use the property in compliance with planning permissions.
It might be the case that a planning application for change of use to a ‘non-student’ accommodation was lodged. Again, your solicitor can guide you through this. It is possible that you could lodge such an application yourself in the fullness of time, but you would need to liase with an engineer/planning consultant to see whether this is feasible. Banks would probably still not advance a personal mortgage to you in such a situation.
If the property was constructed as part of a ‘normal’ development, and merely happened used as student accommodation due to its location etc, then there is no legal issue. Of course, it is a matter for yourself if you wish to live in a predominantly student area.
You should keep in close contact with your solicitor throughout the process.
