Estates Gazette has reported this week coalition government officials have asked the property industry their views on the possibility of allowing change of use from B1 to C3 to be allowed as permitted development. It would mean a planning application would not be required for the conversion of office or light industrial space to residential use.
Presumably there would need to be some rules. If we take the Gherkin as an example - it was sold for "in excess of £600 million" at the peak of the market in early 2007. That works out at just over £1,300 per sq ft of net office space. If that could be changed to residential I'd hazard a guess it'd be worth more. It'd be quite an architectural challenge though.
I think the short answer is if it means empty offices that are no longer fit for purpose are swiftly bought into use to provide homes then great, if it means landlords are tempted to end/not renew commercial leases to turn a fast buck in converting useful employment generating space to a swanky pad for somebody then possibly not so great.
Could mean empty office or light industrial units suddenly become a much more attractive proposition for those prepared to take a punt. It's a tricky risk to quantify though.
An interesting proposition, particularly relating to how an affordable housing component is dealt with under the permitted development route and how this would be tied into a legally binding agreement....
I am in the process of buying an empty office block B1 into luxury flats do i have to get the building to be a C3 before finalising the sale?
You can sell the building whenever you like, but if you're going to undertake the conversion you'd need planning permission for the change of use.