Anyone thinking of upsizing their home might have good reasons for thinking twice about buying a larger house.
It is not just that house price inflation has been running hot, with LandRegistry figures indicating that this has been steepest in the East Midlands at 12.4 per cent over the past year. There is also the fact that high inflation means the amount of money anyone has to take on a house purchase
could be rather limited.
To that may be added rising interest rates and the prospectthis has for pushing up mortgage rates as well.
All that might get some considering the alternative of an extension. It can give you more space while enabling you to stay just as close as you are to your local amenities, schools and friendly neighbours, as well as avoiding the actual trouble of moving, one of the most stressful experiences anyone can have.
Nottingham is not Britain’s biggest area for home extension plans by any means; a survey of 253 English local authorities by Mojo Mortgages published in April revealed that 15 of the 20 local authority areas with the highest number of extensions were in London, while there is a general north-south divide in this regard.
However, that might change in the Midlands and north in the near future, not least as now may be a chance to get that extension done before someone on your street puts a stop to it.
A new law in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in the Queens Speech will include giving neighbours the right to vote on whether to grant planning permission for extensions in their
street, as well as to set constraints on what materials can be used.
That doesn’t mean nobody will get to have an extension -neighbours would get a vote but not a veto - but it could make it harder to get a plan through without first having to sweet talk the rest of the street.