Lille Kirkeholmen is idyllically located in Kragerø’s beautiful archipelago. It is a short distance to most things. Whether you want to swim, go fishing, travel into the center of Kragerø by boat or soak up the sun on the terrace. The total of 60 housing units all have direct access to the sea right outside their own terrace or garden. Pretty much perfect for those looking for a practical holiday home in the archipelago. Lille Kirkeholmen is idyllically located outside the town of Kragerø. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news This has also been the case for Terje Lindsten’s family, who allowed themselves to be tempted to buy a cabin when the project was completed in 2000. – We have had a very good time here, he tells news. But even though it felt wistful, the family still decided that they wanted to sell the cabin after last year’s summer holiday was over. It would turn out to be far more complicated than expected. The local newspaper KV has written several articles about the case. Lack of approval It was the broker, Krogsveen eiendom, who discovered the essential detail when the prospectus for the cabin was to be drawn up last summer. Many of the cabins on Lille Kirkeholmen lack both a completion certificate and a use permit, more than twenty years after the owners moved in in good faith. According to the newspaper KV, it could be all 60 units. When Lindsten and his broker contacted the municipality to rectify the error, the response they received was surprising to say the least. Terje Lindsten, cabin owner in Kragerø. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news They could not find the necessary papers that this had been done, and thus the conclusion was that the cabins on Lille Kirkeholmen are being used illegally. In an e-mail to Krogsveen dated 4 August last year, the municipality’s case manager also writes that Kragerø municipality may consider following up on the offense at his cottage. The holiday home is registered as “used” in the cadastre, Norway’s official property register. The municipality also writes that the cabin owner himself must engage a company with liability rights to apply for the necessary permits. – We were shocked, says Lindsten to news. The family has now stayed away from the property for over half a year for fear of doing something illegal. Costs time and money Terje Lindsten has for the time being had to put the sale on hold, despite the fact that several potential buyers have expressed their interest. – Who would want to buy a property that is not legal to use, asks the cabin owner, who has spent both time and money on something he believes the municipality itself is responsible for cleaning up. A review of the communication between the cabin owner, broker and the municipality shows a solid paper mill. It has now been going on for eight months. Lindsten has appealed the conclusions to the municipality in two rounds. He has already incurred large expenses by using an external company to help him get the necessary papers in order, which he believes the municipality should have initially taken responsibility for. – In total, it could cost me somewhere between NOK 60,000 and 90,000, he says excitedly. Long history To understand what this is all about, we have to go back to the beginning. That is, until the end of the nineties, when the resort was built. Lindsten’s cabin is the white one in the middle of the picture. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news More than twenty years after the holiday homes were built, the municipality’s building affairs department believes that Lindsten, as the owner, is responsible for applying for a completion certificate. This must therefore be done with the help of an approved company since the certificate is apparently not in the municipality’s archive. The municipality has confirmed this to Lindsten. Lindsten, for his part, believes that the municipality assumed this responsibility in the first place, when the project was started. This is because the project was applied for at a time when the municipality was responsible for control and completion certificates, before a change in the rules that the project owner or owner is responsible for this came into force back in 1998. KV has followed the municipality closely, and found that the at that time it was decided that the process should be handled according to “old” legislation. Nevertheless, it was never a priority to finish the job of issuing the completion certificates. The heart of the dispute is therefore who is responsible for getting the papers in order in 2023. Act in good faith Kjersti F. Rønningsland is a broker in Krogsveen eiendom, and has assisted Terje Lindsten in connection with the planned sale. She is surprised by the response from the municipality. – It is very bold to do it this way. We have a lot of properties in Norway that do not have a temporary use permit, she says. On properties that were built before 1998, most municipalities have traditionally informed estate agents that this is something they no longer bother with, she explains. Kjersti F. Rønningsland, estate agent in Krogsveen, has assisted Terje Lindsten in connection with the sale. Photo: Krogsveen Eiendom – It does not mean that the use becomes legal, but you draw a line. Kragerø municipality did not want to do that in this case, and thus it will be extremely difficult for both the seller and us as estate agents, says Rønningsland. – Should the owner have checked this himself? – This is not something that an ordinary private person really has any responsibility to check up on. After all, they bought the property in good faith when it was handed over. This is something we as brokers are responsible for finding out during a sale, she says to news. It is far from the first property they see that lacks a use permit and completion certificates. – Unfortunately, it is common, and perhaps especially in leisure properties. The big difference in this context is that the municipality pleads that it is illegal use. Working to find a solution Grunde Wegar Knudsen (Sp), mayor of Kragerø, says the municipality is working to resolve the situation. – I am sorry on behalf of the cabin owner. It is a terrible situation for him, but also a sad and terrible situation for us, he says to news. Grunde Wegar Knudsen (Sp), mayor of Kragerø. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / news – The cabin owner was told that he was using the cabin illegally, and that the municipality would follow up on this when he contacted the matter through his broker. Can the municipality be aware of such an answer? – I don’t want to go into the specific answers, but you can always communicate better, admits the mayor. Knudsen has recently had separate meetings with the municipal director about the matter, and hopes they will find a solution that both parties can be satisfied with by the summer. – Can the same issue apply to cabins elsewhere in the archipelago? – Now we have to solve this case first, and we will also see how we can possibly proceed with other cases, he says.
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After 22 years, they were told that the holiday paradise in Kragerø was illegal – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
