Hackney family to pay £12,500 after building four rooms on top of home over 20 years ago

A Hackney family have agreed to pay £12,500 after building three bedrooms and a bathroom on top of their home more than 20 years ago.

The family, who live on Lingwood Road in Clapton, made “significant alterations” to their home without the council’s consent in 1997, breaking the rules of their lease.

A council document shows that although Hackney Council gave the family planning permission at the time, they were required to make a legal declaration and inform the council.

Hackney Council decided to grant the family with a new lease which includes the large loft space at a cabinet meeting on Monday, as long as they pay a premium of £12,500.

Speaking at the meeting Councillor Sade Etti said: “The property was altered structurally and extended in 1997 by the current leaseholder to incorporate the loft space.

“The leaseholder applied for consent for the alteration retrospectively in 2021 and going forward the council will develop a new robust policy to govern how [situations] of this nature are managed in future.”

The loft space was converted into the four rooms and an inspection of the property by the council’s Housing Leasehold Surveyor team found there were no issues with the structural integrity of the building.

A council report said: “Loft spaces have previously been sold on a small number of occasions, and in the above case, the best option is to formalise the situation by agreeing terms for the loft space to be included into the existing lease.”

The family declined to comment when contacted by the Standard.