Converting 'granny annexe' to leasehold

johnnysailorboy

Hi. Have just converted part of our house to a self-contained annexe for an elderly relative who needs assistance due to eye problems. This is an attached extension (2 down, 2 up at the side of our property). In order to giver her some legal protection over the property (eg if we became bankrupt and were forced to sell our house - unlikely but just looking at all eventualities), could we make this annexe a 'Leasehold' property (and therefore separate from our own 'Freehold'?

lincroft1710

I would check the conditions of your planning permission, many "granny annexes" are not allowed to be separated from the main house, i.e. it cannot be sold or disposed of other than with the main house.

chris_m

To be leasehold, surely it requires a freeholder - i.e. you?

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Are there any mortgages now (or in the future).


Any internal access

eddddy

You would need planning consent for converting from one dwelling into two.

Also, check with Building Control. If you're subdividing a house, you may need to make both dwellings compliant with current building regs. (That might involve a lot of upgrading.)

If you have a mortgage, you would need the lender's consent to dispose of part of the property. The lender would want to revalue the original property (without the annex), and may want you to repay part of the mortgage.

There would be all the legal fees associated with drawing up a lease etc.