Converting garage into a holiday let

[Hpd]

Hi,

I have a fairly large garage/workshop with a driveway which I would like to convert into living accommodation, preferably a holiday let. I have spoken to a few people who are in that sort of business and it seems like it could be a good idea. I have also spoken to the local planning department about this and they advised me to read information online and to submit a pre-planning application.

If anyone could advise me on what general conditions or hurdles I might be facing that would be great. Have any of you done this yourself? I live in South Wales and the property is not listed or in a conservation area etc.

Thanks!

 

[noseall]

hurdles I might be facing

Parking?

 

[^woody^]

The weather

 

[Hpd]

Parking?

I imagine this would factor in. It’s got a driveway suitable for 2 cars so hopefully not a problem?

 

[Hpd]

The weather

Haha yes there is that!

 

[Notch7]

The weather

Its South Wales.

That is the sunny part

 

[^woody^]

Ok then, assuming it is sunny for one week in July and there is a tourist ready to go.

Look at your council's planning policies, as they will state what is and is not acceptable. Normally, the concerns are related to impact on neighbours, so parking, noise, comings and goings and the like are what they will be interested in and looking to control.

Satisfy these concerns and add a few benefits such as impact on the local economy from tourism, and increase in council income from tax and suchlike - again check council policies (planning but other depts too) to see if they are prompting tourism.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Not done it myself but some things to ponder;

You may need planning permission to change the status from 'detached garage' to 'self contained holiday apartment'. Good odds you'll get pp but still a hoop you need to jump through

You may (as a condition of pp) have to live with some sort of condition restricting individual lets to x days or total let period of y days per year or some other restriction- sort your financial projections to determine how many days rent you need to make it worth doing.

You may also have to improve the insulation quite a lot if converting from a garage/workshop (no insulation required) to a habitable space. Roof insulation is cheap and easy, wall and floor insulation neither of the above.

If its going to be self contained it'll need washing, bathing and toilet facilities. If you have an electric shower in your house, you'd be on thin ice putting one in the garage as well. You'll for sure require a toilet which will need connection to foul waste/septic tank. Space heating may be a bit costly as well- electric is cheap to install but pricey to run and if the supply is coming from the house then you've again got limits, holiday lets are usually all inclusive so you need to have a look at what the going rate is in your area and see if it's going to work for you.

You may get clobbered for council tax on the new self contained holiday let at the special bonus double rate for empty properties (when it isn't let out due to the restrictions in the pp grant above).

Not trying to rain on your parade but there are a lot of variables in your cunning plan to make a bit of cash- the council tax one could be a massive kick in the mouth (if the new accommodation does have a liability it'll be assessed at current value rather than the value in 1990 so you could end up with the madness of the big house being in Band A and the garage being in Band D or higher).

Have fun and don't expect much handholding or useful information from the council. Make sure any communication you get from them is confirmed in writing (email is fine)

 

[Hpd]

Thanks for all of the helpful info. Ive got a good idea of what's involved with the building work and regs etc but hadn't put enough thought into council tax. I've got plenty of research to get on with but so far the idea is still viable (I think!)

 

[Alec_t]

Going from a private dwelling to a business premises, there's also the matter of additional insurance to consider.