Last year UK homeowners lost £313 million on building projects without planning permission.

According to the research from Direct Line Home Insurance, unplanned building projects are becoming more common, with ten per cent more breaches in planning permission reported in 2005 than in 2004.

There are some compelling reasons why you shouldn’t start any house building or improvements without gaining planning permission. First of all, there is a big risk for your project to be ultimately torn down by council. Lack of planning permission results in delays and cancellations, which will cost you a lot (an average of £10 441 according to the Direct Line Home Insurance research). Even if the project not complying with building regulations is successfully finished, it makes your property unsaleable in future.

The Direct Line research finds that “3.5 million Britons have moved into a new home to discover unsound or unapproved work, with one in five discovering their loft conversions were not approved and five per cent finding unapproved garages or carports”.

Source: http://www.myfinances.co.uk/property/housing-market/