Legal Juice

Mr. John Renshaw built a 2-story, 2-bedroom house inside a ... barn! Totally inside a barn! Why? Because he knew he couldn't get a permit to build it, and, per The Telegraph,

[Council officers] think he attempted to use a loophole in the law that states that properties built without planning permission are allowed to stand if they have been lived in and undetected for at least four years.

So you're probably wondering how long he managed to keep the house hidden? Turns out, it doesn't matter.

... the High Court recently ruled the four-year period only begins when any sheilding is removed, meaning that even if he had managed to hide the house and live in darkness for four years, he faced having to knock it down the moment it was unveiled.

Doh! Doh! Doh! Mr. Renshaw was ordered to demolish the house, or face a very stiff fine. He apparently complied. Click here to read a little more.