Split our Property for Rent - Guidance & Help please

[zappastix]

Hello

Before I contact the local council, I would like to know where we stand with regards to splitting our property for rent.

The property is a substantial converted chalet bungalow.

We brought this property 8 years ago because it had a self contained section upstairs for my dad to live in.

This self contained section is on the first floor - but there is no dividing door between upstairs and downstairs.

It's just like a regular family home, with a ground and first floor. The difference is, it contains a small kitchen, shower/bathroom,
lounge and separate bedroom upstairs.

Dad died after 18 months living with us.

My sister-in-law needs a place to live, and would like to move in upstairs.

Before she does, we would need to separate the upstairs from downstairs. And do it all legally, i.e. Rent Book etc.

Apart from a dividing door (say at the bottom of the staircase) what else might we be looking at?

This upstairs section is probably less than 15 years old. From the top of the staircase there is a hallway which accesses each room.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Stephen

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Do you think you will ever be renting it out to anyone but a close family member?

What about selling it at some point.

What are your long term plans for it?

 

[zappastix]

Thanks freddymercurystwin.

We wouldn't rent it out to anyone else.

We would like to stay here, but if we cannot rent, then it has got to go on the market.

We are fortunate that we are right on the south coast, and another
buyer could use this as a holiday flat, or bed & breakfast.

As you will appreciate we are trying to do this as cheap as possible.

Any major alterations could be carried out by a new buyer, if that's
what they wanted.

Thanks again.

 

[OwainDIYer]

To separate the upstairs from downstairs, you are talking about creating a new dwelling. That conversion will have to be done to current building regulations. In particular the ground floor ceiling becomes a fire barrier between two houses and will probably have to be upgraded. The stair will have to be protected as it will be an escape stair to the upper dwelling. The electrical installations in both halves will have to be separated and brought up to current Regulations.

In planning terms you would have to apply for planning permission to split the house, this may be refused on grounds of density, car parking, external bin storage, etc. The flats would be separately rated for council tax.

In legal terms you would have to sort out separate registration at the land registry, set up freehold/leasehold/commonhold structure for the two flats, set out how common repairs will be paid for, etc. Then when you rent you would have to use a proper tenancy agreement, place the deposit in a protection scheme, and accept that your s-i-l has security of tenure and cannot be removed without a court order which can take months to obtain. You would find it very difficult to sell the property with a sitting tenant in one half.

You would probably be much better to take your s-i-l in as a lodger, that means a lot less officialdom, it also means you can get about £4k of rent tax-free under the rent-a-room scheme and she does not get security of tenure. You have to make sure she does not obtain tenancy rights by NOT separating the two halves so that she has exclusive possession of anything.

 

[zappastix]

Thank you OwainDIYer for your detailed and informative reply.

I will now look into setting this up as a lodger.

I didn't known about the £4K rent free - what a great site this is.

Many thanks again - Stephen

 

[OwainDIYer]

Rent a room scheme