dividing a house to make an annexe

Merrie

Hi due to mum's increasing care needs we are planning to sell our house and buy a larger house which can be divided to give her an annexe - bedroom, shower room, lounge and kitchenette, I have some questions for you knowledgable people out there:
Do we need to talk to the council before we buy? Do we need planning permission to make internal changes to the house? The bathroom already exists, as do the 2 main rooms, so it is building in a suitable kitchen area, sink, microwave, fridge, cupboards etc.
Are we creating a separate dwelling, will this affect the council tax?
Thanks

Cakeguts

I am not quite sure how your mum's care needs will be met any better by her living independently in a separate part of your house than in a retirement flat?

gettingtheresometime

I'm guessing it will be because the OP will be on site to do things like shopping, laundry etc

p00hsticks

Merrie wrote: »

Are we creating a separate dwelling, will this affect the council tax?

I'm not an expert, but I'd think that one of the main criteria would be if the 'annexe' is going to have a separate entrance (front door) to the rest of the property...

bluesnake

you could end up paying extra council tax, etc. You want to look at the rules. You may want to use the same entrance.

xylophone

I am not quite sure how your mum's care needs will be met any better by her living independently in a separate part of your house than in a retirement flat?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/70960141#Comment_70960141

It appears that mother is currently in a warden controlled flat but wishes to live with the family.

MyOnlyPost

You only create a new dwelling if the property can be sold separately from the main house. Creating an annexe will affect your council tax.

My house has an extension and with a couple of lockable internal doors and a 2nd staircase I could create an annexe for my autistic son. As the areas were accessible by internal doors I don't know if this would legally count as an annexe, but it would give him some independence whilst also giving him the support he needs

CIS

An 'annexe' will be banded individually if it's sufficiently self-contained (as would any property) - there are slightly different council tax rules which can apply to annexes which can lower the charge in some cases.

Whether or not it's regarded as an 'annexe' when banded depends on whether there's a planning restriction on being being sold/let separately to the main property and can some, in some cases, affect the date the property is banded from. In the VOA's own words "A legal restriction that stops the separate sale of an annex does not prevent the annex from being self-contained and being given a separate Council Tax Band. Those legal restrictions may have an effect on the value of the annex."

Craig

Owain_Moneysaver

Any internal alterations will have to conform to Building Regulations and you will have to apply to the council for a building warrant.

Merrie

Thanks for the replies. We currently live 2 hours drive away, we want to be on hand without taking her independence. There are times she needs help during the night as well as during the day, sleeping on the floor of a 1 bed flat is not great. There are also times when she is able to take care of herself with minimal support. We are thinking about the future. The house we are looking at would not need major structural changes; dividing the hallway with a stud wall/doors, turning existing downstairs bathroom into wet room, putting in a kitchenette. Mum would use the front door, we would use the existing side door, so no new entrance. No internal locks, mum will be able to use the rest of the house, though she doesn't do stairs.This is all speculation at the moment - just put our house on the market this week, so the house we want may be gone before we are ready, though they are willing to wait at the moment. Doing a bit of research now to see what the hurdles are and who we should contact. If this house falls through then we may be looking at converting a garage + some downstairs, which will involve more building work, which i guess will need planning permission.

lincroft1710

Any conversion work which would involve creating a self contained unit of living accommodation requires both planning permission and building regs, and the pp will invariably have a condition attached preventing a sale separate from the main dwelling.

The annex does not need its own outside door, but if its only access is from a room as opposed to a corridor, landing or hallway, then it cannot be separately banded for Council Tax. If you convert part of an existing house the CT band of that house may be reduced if the annex has its own CT band.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/435664/Council_Tax_Bands_and_Annexes.pdf