Converting garage to a home office but keeping the door - need permission?

Deisler

Hi,

We live in a detached house and the garage is ‘integrated’ in the house, sharing one wall with the living room and our bedroom above it. The garage has a front and a back door, two walls of concrete blocks, and one drywall towards the living room. It has a concrete floor. The house is timber framed.

Recently we had an idea of converting the garage to a home office, but still keeping the garage door. The idea is to attach timber studs on top of the concrete blocks and then put insulation layer and drywall panels on. For the garage door, we plan to put insulation at its back inside. For the floor, we could either use pvc mats or carpet. The ceiling is already drywall’ed so nothing needs to be done there.

We checked many websites but got very confused about what permission we need to get and what regulations we need to follow. The thing is, we do not want to make it officially a room, but just want to use it as an office space/gym when temperature allows, so the house still has a garage when it comes to reselling.

Got quite a few questions here, so bear with me:

1) do I need permission from Council to do this? I assume no, as I do not alter the function of the room (it is still a garage), but want to double-check.

2) when it comes to reselling the house, because I still want to claim it is a garage, what impact this will have? I am absolutely sure no future owner wants to park car in it (nobody does in our street), so it shouldn’t put the potential buyers off. But will I have troubles with the home report and solicitors?

3) i will do my best to insulate the garage, but it will still has a garage door, although insulated at the back. Despite this, do I need some sort of certificate/approval in terms of building regulations? If so, what exactly do I need to do? Paying an inspector, or getting a certificate? I am quite lost on this as to what I need to do to fulfill legal requirement.

Thank you in advance for your help on this.

Regards
Deisler

Davesnave

You mention a Home Report, which sounds like Scotland, but in England and Wales, this wouldn't need planning permission, as converting an integral garage is permitted development, except where such permissions have been removed. It may be the same if you're north of the border.

However, by not complying fully with building regulations, you are not going to make the best use of the space or add as much value as you might. You say yourself that no one in your road uses their garage to house a car. What adds value is 100% usable bedroom or reception space, depending on the house and circumstances.

An office that isn't quite 'habitable' is only one step up from an outhouse. I have one of those myself, created where there was once a rickety lean-to. It's good as a boiler room and den, but I don't think it makes my property extra-desirable. On the other hand, the converted integral garage is now fully habitable - the best insulated part of the property in fact - and that certainly does make it extra-versatile and worth more.

So, in your position I'd spend the extra if I could and go for a compliant conversion if the property warrants it, rather than spend less an end up with something that falls between two stools. And at the very least I'd make sure I wasn't creating a death trap with no means of egress in the event of fire.

Warwick_Hunt

Does it have a window or are you planning on putting one in?

A new opening would need building regs and possibly planning.

If it looks like a garage then no one needs to know.

betsie

Hi
We did this at a previous house. Sounds similar to your set up. We did it on a whim as OH was bored and didn't get permission (kept garage door). It did come up when we sold but luckily it wasn't an issue and just got an indemnity policy to cover buyers if council found out and wanted it returned to a garage.
It's not guaranteed that the council will let you convert it as you are getting rid of a car parking space and there are specific ratio requiements ( look online at your areas planning portal to see if any of your neighbours have been allowed to).
if you think the council will allow it I would go through the proper channels as it is less stressful when you come to sell.

Doozergirl

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

Does it have a window or are you planning on putting one in?

A new opening would need building regs and possibly planning.

If it looks like a garage then no one needs to know.

That isn’t advice!

If you’re using something as a room, it should meet building regulations, and it needs a window to do so. The window itself may well need to meet regs, but the room needs a window, first and foremost.

Downstairs windows do not need planning permission if the house has usual permitted develooment rights.

OP, you are either converting it or you are not. If you want to sell the house with a garage, it needs to look like a garage, not a room. If you are insulating and drylining etc, then you are converting it and it needs to comply with building regulations as a habitable room. It will add value. There seems little point in going halfway there and then ripping it out. It just costs money.

Warwick_Hunt

Doozergirl wrote: »

That isn’t advice!

If you’re using something as a room, it should meet building regulations, and it needs a window to do so. The window itself may well need to meet regs, but the room needs a window, first and foremost.

Downstairs windows do not need planning permission if the house has usual permitted develooment rights.

OP, you are either converting it or you are not. If you want to sell the house with a garage, it needs to look like a garage, not a room. If you are insulating and drylining etc, then you are converting it and it needs to comply with building regulations as a habitable room. It will add value. There seems little point in going halfway there and then ripping it out. It just costs money.

It should but many don't as you well know.

Davesnave

Warwick_Hunt wrote: »

It should but many don't as you well know.

You sound like my Mum!

OP is at liberty to do as they wish. People will give opinions here, and there may be many shades of those. However, doing work to rip it all out again later doesn't sound like money saving to me.

Yes, many people live in houses that don't meet regs. After all, a lot of them precede the introduction of regs.

Warwick_Hunt

Davesnave wrote: »

You sound like my Mum!

OP is at liberty to do as they wish. People will give opinions here, and there may be many shades of those. However, doing work to rip it all out again later doesn't sound like money saving to me.

Yes, many people live in houses that don't meet regs. After all, a lot of them precede the introduction of regs.

It's like the loft room thread. Some want a quick bodge on the cheap for an extra room in the vein hope it will class as a room when they come to sell.

Pdbaggett

Yeah just do it will be fine, if there's still a garage door its not going to be an issue.

therealhyper

Deisler wrote: »

Hi,

We live in a detached house and the garage is ‘integrated’ in the house, sharing one wall with the living room and our bedroom above it. The garage has a front and a back door, two walls of concrete blocks, and one drywall towards the living room. It has a concrete floor. The house is timber framed.

Recently we had an idea of converting the garage to a home office, but still keeping the garage door. The idea is to attach timber studs on top of the concrete blocks and then put insulation layer and drywall panels on. For the garage door, we plan to put insulation at its back inside. For the floor, we could either use pvc mats or carpet. The ceiling is already drywall’ed so nothing needs to be done there.

We checked many websites but got very confused about what permission we need to get and what regulations we need to follow. The thing is, we do not want to make it officially a room, but just want to use it as an office space/gym when temperature allows, so the house still has a garage when it comes to reselling.

Got quite a few questions here, so bear with me:

1) do I need permission from Council to do this? I assume no, as I do not alter the function of the room (it is still a garage), but want to double-check.

2) when it comes to reselling the house, because I still want to claim it is a garage, what impact this will have? I am absolutely sure no future owner wants to park car in it (nobody does in our street), so it shouldn’t put the potential buyers off. But will I have troubles with the home report and solicitors?

3) i will do my best to insulate the garage, but it will still has a garage door, although insulated at the back. Despite this, do I need some sort of certificate/approval in terms of building regulations? If so, what exactly do I need to do? Paying an inspector, or getting a certificate? I am quite lost on this as to what I need to do to fulfill legal requirement.

Thank you in advance for your help on this.

Regards
Deisler

Hi,

The planning criteria is usually slightly different from City to City but for what you are trying to do, it will not usually need any planning or building reg.

The council will want to get involved if you're planning to live in the garage i.e. make it part of your living/sleeping area of your house.

You could ring your local council planning depart for general advice or a local planning architect, if you wanted to be 100% sure, but personally you have nothing to worry about and don’t need to involve the council or building regs. In order to carry out your plan.
Good luck with your work.

Doozergirl

therealhyper wrote: »

Hi,

The planning criteria is usually slightly different from City to City but for what you are trying to do, it will not usually need any planning or building reg.

The council will want to get involved if you're planning to live in the garage i.e. make it part of your living/sleeping area of your house.

You could ring your local council planning depart for general advice or a local planning architect, if you wanted to be 100% sure, but personally you have nothing to worry about and don’t need to involve the council or building regs. In order to carry out your plan.
Good luck with your work.

Where did you pull this information from? A hat?

Permitted Development Rights are national, not local. Whether a house has PDR is individual to the house, not the ‘city’.

If you use something as a room within your house, it needs Building Regulations Approval as that room. An office is a room. All rooms need to meet thermal and fire escape requirements.

Whether people choose to do it and what the conseqences are is one thing, but telling people that It’s not even a requirement is bizarre. And wrong.