Jezzza

Hi,
I have been reading through all of this thread as I am looking to buy a plot of land near Tata in the very near future and was wondering about the size of house allowed on the plot. I have been advised that it could be only 3% of the size of the plot . Anybody been through all of this ?

Jezz

FenTiger

On my mother-in-law's residential plot in Malyi, Borsod Abauj Zemplen the rear of the house cannot be more than 30 metres from the front (boundary) of the property. The plot here is 2,000 sq.m. , about 30m wide x 67m long. Outbuildings are permitted beyond the 30m mark. You will need to check with the local mayor's office what you can do.

Jezzza

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. It seems to be varying depending on local laws. We are having conflicting info from 2 different agents selling land we are interested in. I'll need to try and get all the info first before I commit to buying a plot

Peter_in_Hungary

Go to the local planning/building control office with the plot number of the property and ask them what the restrictions will be in terms of %age of building, distance from boundary, orientation of building etc and get the answers in writing. The particular regs for the area will differ depending upon the local plan, whether inside or outside the village and classification of the land. If the plot is outside the village boundary's then find out about infrastructure possibilities. Don't rely on the agents say-so, do your own searches.

FenTiger

One thing I forgot to add is the placing of your house on the plot. I think this is what Paul in Hungary is referring to as orientation.
My mother-in-law's house on the plot looking at it from the road is on the right hand side as are nearly all houses going to each end. On the opposite side of the road they are mostly on the left. As we are on a hilly road some houses have not followed this rule due to some plots being quite steep going in one direction then another so the house has been built on the most suitable spot. There are some semi-detached houses on the opposite side and this rule isn't followed either.
As Paul in Hungary says best to go down to see the local planning department for information. You might have to wait because the guy you need to see may work in different villages/towns.
When we looked into buying a 2,300 sq.m. plot we asked about building a house. Unfortunately, it was not all good news, especially as we were told in writing that we could only build on a narrow strip. The plot still hasn't sold! Not sure if all connected to the same information we were given or some other reason as it's next to a building belonging to a church and is being renovated.

PaulinEger

I think you mean PETER Paul is in Eger

FenTiger

I'm always getting mixed up between the two of you. Are you twins?

Jezzza

Hi.
Thanks for the reply,
We have had info back on different plots in the same area and its only saying about the max 3% size of house ,so to build a 120m2 bungalow/house the land will have to be quite large . Builders seem to quote an amount per square meter for a completed house . Is this the normal way ? It's getting to be a bit of a minefield !

FenTiger

Damn - I had just finishes typing my post and my tablet shut down so I'll respond later.
Bottom line have you got an idea on the layout and the specification? If you've mentioned this already ignore my post.

Peter_in_Hungary

I would look at the 3% figure again. Are the plots outside the village boundaries? To me the 3% sounds like a limit for agricultural land or closed garden category land rather than 'living house plot'. A typical plot in a village or town is going to be about 1000m2 up to 2000m2 for a biggish plot which would mean a house between 30m2 and 60m2 - clearly a non-starter. Check the land type and ask specifically at the local planning office about the plot in question rather than a general question.

Builders will quote price /m2 as a ball park figure but this means very little as each builder will have a different understanding of a completed house - as will you !
Once you get your house plans you can then get quotes against a detailed specification and you have to go through the specs. to make sure what is included is what you think is included. e.g. not many builders clear away rubbish, it is left for the owner to deal with, and this can involve time and trouble. Also pallets are charged for and builders won't often get these returned for refund - down to the owner again. Builders, especially the smaller firms, will expect the owner to chase up and order materials, if you expect the builder to do this then this will be reflected in the price. There are lot of little things that soon add up to make the eventual cost quite a bit different to the original quote.
The builders wife's Mercedes is paid for by the extras - you know the 'Oh whilst you are here you couldn't just do this - which of course is not in the quote and come in at high price.

Jezzza

Hi,
We had a reply from an agent saying that 3% of the plot size above ground or 10% of plot size under ground is correct because the land is outside the village in the countryside .
I think our next step is drawing some plans up and approaching builders .

wolfi

Jezza, be careful!
Get info from your Mayor etc,
In the village near the Balaton where we lived, houses outside the village proper were officially summerhouses, could not be used as a residence and had other restrictions.
Also consider the available amenities - not only water, gas and electricity but also mobile phone and internet

Peter_in_Hungary

I had a word with my tame structural engineer (speaks English, Hungarian sztatikus) and he said the plots were probably outside the village boundaries and probably a zártkert (enclosed garden) in which case the 3% building area is correct. For normal building plots the built on area can be up to 50% depending upon the local area plan and regulations. Be careful if you are considering this type of plot as other restrictions my apply e.g. not for a permanent dwelling.

The post from wolfi is correct, I would add that the mayor is an elected person and as such is not an expert in all matters so IMO best to ask questions by letter because officials (usually) take care to get things right when they write a reply.

Any infrastructure (gas water etc.) not there now will probably not be available. Internet may be restricted to mobile only (probably no possibility of land line) and mobile signal may not be good enough.

Mains drainage may not be available and whilst private systems are largely ignored at the moment there will come a time when regulations that are there today will be enforced and this will involve considerable expense if the authorities insist on regulation compliance.

Other considerations, dustcarts usually don't go off tarmac roads so you may not get a bin collection, ditto post service, check deliveries available or if a PO box is needed. (expense). Also depending upon the location you may not see a snow plough all winter so the possibility of being snowed in (without internet!!!) has to be considered.

Oh and if the road to the property is not tarmac then it probably won't get repaired by anyone other than those who use it - which means you and any other user who you can persuade to help.

Otherwise living in the countryside has its benefits but the drawbacks have to be understood and considered.

BTW I live on a farm.

wolfi

To add to Peter's very valuable remarks re zártkert (enclosed garden).
Where I lived several people had letter boxes at the start of the road leading into their gardens and also put their garbage bins there - of course this brings some risks so a postbox at the post office might be safer.

FenTiger

If you have an estate agent looking for suitable plots do check the fee they are expecting to be paid. My personal experience is often I found properties on Ingatlan before the estate agent mentioned them so why pay for their time if they hadn't alerted you to it! But my estate agent has given some valuable advice, advised against increasing our offer, negotiated a deal avoiding a bidding war which could have increased the house sale value by 10-15%. We were introduced to the estate agent by my sister-in-law. At this point in time ..... I might insist she contributes 20%!
You have all on many occasions warned Brits to be careful in dealing with Hungarians, I.e. estate agents, builders, etc. It doesn't matter if a relative introduced them to you ....
Hoping to knock down the fee as we already paid fees up to December 2020!