Rent a Room - Garage Conversion

itssmallstuff

Lover_of_Lycra said:

@itssmallstuff you don't appear to want to share your home with this other occupant, whatever their status might be, but that's the whole point of the rent a room scheme....to rent a room in your home. Would you want to rent a converted garage with no access to a proper kitchen?

If I put a kitchen in the conversion and share the living room in my home be okay? 

Ditzy_Mitzy

itssmallstuff said:

itssmallstuff said:

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

I'll say what everyone else seems to be thinking: this is an utterly horrid idea, bordering on the morally reprehensible.  A single garage, because the two buildings are separate, is a single garage.  It was put up to shelter the householder's Ford Consul, or whatever sort of medium sized car is appropriate to the era of construction, from the elements.  It is not a house.  It never will be a house.  If you haven't got a Ford Consul then by all means put a lawnmower and chest freezer in there but, for God's sake, not some poor !!!!!! with a middling job.  Where's the kitchen?  Where's the bathroom?  Where's the insulation and the windows and the poor prospective occupant's dignity?  I've got a garage too, lucky me, it's full of old tins of paint and spiders.  One day I might clear it out and buy myself a Ford Consul with faux leopard-skin seat covers to put in it.  I won't, ever, think: 'You know what I could do?  Get a poor person to pay me handsomely to live in here!'.  What about the dead of winter, when you're sitting indoors with the central heating blasting and poor boy/girl is sitting in your garage shivering with nothing but a £30 Argos oil radiator to keep warm by.  Would you let him or her in if asked nicely enough?
You know; I let a maisonette, a whole one with different rooms and everything, for what you're proposing to let a wooden framed garage out for.  These are people, we're talking about, real people with hopes and fears and imaginations and, if you like, souls.  People made of the same stuff as you and I, only with less money.  They aren't livestock and they certainly aren't cars.  They deserve better.

Sorry, but you misunderstood. The conversion will be done in line with building regulations. It would be furnished no less than my own home. Heating, hot water, bed ... These are basic necessities and will be made available. I'll be doing more than that - TV, washing machine, WiFi, parking, garden, milk/cereals, regular cleaning, safety checks...

I'm not planning to put a bed in garage, but convert the garages to the level of habitable accomodation.

Not sure if I mentioned, the room will be an ensuite with a full size bath!

Your garage is starting to sound less like a garage and more like the TARDIS.  It's only, what, 17' by 8', isn't it.  

itssmallstuff

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

itssmallstuff said:

itssmallstuff said:

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

I'll say what everyone else seems to be thinking: this is an utterly horrid idea, bordering on the morally reprehensible.  A single garage, because the two buildings are separate, is a single garage.  It was put up to shelter the householder's Ford Consul, or whatever sort of medium sized car is appropriate to the era of construction, from the elements.  It is not a house.  It never will be a house.  If you haven't got a Ford Consul then by all means put a lawnmower and chest freezer in there but, for God's sake, not some poor !!!!!! with a middling job.  Where's the kitchen?  Where's the bathroom?  Where's the insulation and the windows and the poor prospective occupant's dignity?  I've got a garage too, lucky me, it's full of old tins of paint and spiders.  One day I might clear it out and buy myself a Ford Consul with faux leopard-skin seat covers to put in it.  I won't, ever, think: 'You know what I could do?  Get a poor person to pay me handsomely to live in here!'.  What about the dead of winter, when you're sitting indoors with the central heating blasting and poor boy/girl is sitting in your garage shivering with nothing but a £30 Argos oil radiator to keep warm by.  Would you let him or her in if asked nicely enough?
You know; I let a maisonette, a whole one with different rooms and everything, for what you're proposing to let a wooden framed garage out for.  These are people, we're talking about, real people with hopes and fears and imaginations and, if you like, souls.  People made of the same stuff as you and I, only with less money.  They aren't livestock and they certainly aren't cars.  They deserve better.

Sorry, but you misunderstood. The conversion will be done in line with building regulations. It would be furnished no less than my own home. Heating, hot water, bed ... These are basic necessities and will be made available. I'll be doing more than that - TV, washing machine, WiFi, parking, garden, milk/cereals, regular cleaning, safety checks...

I'm not planning to put a bed in garage, but convert the garages to the level of habitable accomodation.

Not sure if I mentioned, the room will be an ensuite with a full size bath!

Your garage is starting to sound less like a garage and more like the TARDIS.  It's only, what, 17' by 8', isn't it.  

Total area covered by garages = 40 meter square (450sq ft)

bolwin1

itssmallstuff said:

If I put a kitchen in the conversion and share the living room in my home be okay? 

But you've already said you don't want to do this "He could use our kitchen and living, but we don't want them to" . To be honest, it sounds like you are trying to build a case for if the council turn up & audit what you're doing. You seem fixated on this idea, despite every single person commenting on this thread pointing out what a bad idea it is.   

[Deleted User]

itssmallstuff said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

@itssmallstuff you don't appear to want to share your home with this other occupant, whatever their status might be, but that's the whole point of the rent a room scheme....to rent a room in your home. Would you want to rent a converted garage with no access to a proper kitchen?

If I put a kitchen in the conversion and share the living room in my home be okay? 

Would you make the garage occupant feel as welcome as a fart in spacesuit if (s)he was in the living room? I'm not a property developer, this is much more @Doozergirl's area of expertise and she can correct me if I'm wrong but I think converting garages into an almost but not quite self contained annexe could end up devaluing your home and make it difficult to mortgage due to a second kitchen.

hazyjo

You seem to be ignoring advice and suggestions, so good luck. Let us know how you get on. Hopefully you have the cash and won't need to borrow it.

Do you have a mortgage? If it's likely to devalue your property, you should let them know.

[Deleted User]

Not sure how I stumbled onto this thread but interesting.   I can disagree somewhat with others itssmallstuff as one of my neighbours has done pretty much what you are thinking of i.e. converted large garage for use.   They have put a shower room and toilet,  partitioned in half so there is a small area for bed and the second area as a kind of sitting room with a sink unit.  No full size cooker but they have a combi microwave, and some sort of other thing that dry frys stuff plus toaster, washing machine etc.   It is compact but lovely and the person living there loves it (got patio doors onto garden)     There is a door leading into the house but this is kept locked.

The only problem I would envisage is you have to get the right person and that can prove tricky.   Also a massive space like yours could work out like £2,000+ a square metre.   Not cheap.  But you will have done your sums.   Good luck with whatever you decide.   Not sure I would want the hassle unless it was for an elderly parent/adult child to be honest.

hazyjo

I think the problem is @Tedber that they want to call the person living there a "lodger". The setup you mention would make them a tenant, not a lodger.

Not saying it's always a bad idea to convert a garage. Depends on lots of things. In this regard, it doesn't seem like the best option.

oldbikebloke

Tedber said:

Not sure how I stumbled onto this thread but interesting.   I can disagree somewhat with others itssmallstuff as one of my neighbours has done pretty much what you are thinking of i.e. converted large garage for use. 

does that include deliberately undertaking tax fraud by classing them as a lodger? That appears to be a key part of OP's plan - never share the facilities, keep them "out",  but claim the tax allowance for a lodger.

[Deleted User]

Ok probably different scenario. I wasn’t thinking of anyone trying to buck the system.  Just that it can work nicely having a garage conversion.  Will butt out 😂