Details Matter in Securing a Certificate of Lawful Use

Despite Covid19 lockdown, McLoughlin Planning has succeeded in securing a Certificate of Lawful Use for non-compliance with an agricultural occupancy condition.

This application was noteworthy because the house was occupied by multiple tenants over a 10-year period. Working with the Client’s solicitors MFG Solicitors and Frank Smith Solicitors and thanks to the meticulous records kept by the client, it was possible to demonstrate who occupied the house and for how long.

In addition to this, it was possible to demonstrate how long the intervening period between tenancies lasted and that the client was in negotiation with prospective tenants throughout these periods, thus maintaining continuity of the breach of condition.

New housing in the countryside is strictly controlled. One of the exceptions is a new home for an agricultural worker and the occupation of such houses are strictly controlled by condition.

Through the passage of time and the changing employment patterns in agriculture, the need for such tied houses reduces or ceases to exist. In such cases clients look to lift occupancy conditions.

The case in question here was a property in Worcestershire, where the property has been occupied by persons unrelated to agriculture for a period of greater than 10 years. Key to the success of this application was providing a robust evidence base to show a continual breach over the 10-year period.

We assist clients with such applications and the various way this can be addressed. We have extensive experience of applying appropriate reasoning for lifting agricultural ties.