Turning flats into house.

[huw169]

Hi all.
I have been a reader of this forum foe a while, but never had to post much. However, this is something that you don't see much at the mo.....

I have a pair of end of terace 2 bed flats in a victorian property. I would like to turn them into a 4 bed house for me & my wife.

Does it matter if I keep all the services seperate for the time being? I'll be talking to the suppliers in good time, but has anyone done this before??
Any pointers w.r.t. planning & building regs would be excellent.

Thanks
Huw

 

[Tipper]

You need planning permission to turn a house into flats so I assume you will need planning permission to turn flats into a house!

Building regs depends on any structural work being carried out as well as drainage changes if any.

If you keep the services separate you may find yourself paying two sets of standing charges and also council tax which may require the new house to be re-valued.

Also 2 TV licences....

I am sure there are other costs as well.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Not so sure about the planning issue Tipper. You need permission to turn a house into flats because you are creating additional dwelling units. Turning two 'dwelling units' into a single one wont create the same issues (giving privacy to each unit, seperate amenity space for each unit etc..) . My gut instinct is that you would not need permission, but its worth a phonecall to your local planning authority? If you're reverting back to the original I wouldn't have thought they'd have an issue with it if you do need permission.

 

[PZero]

I would think you will need to submit a building warrant application because one of the kitchens will need to be removed and the room used for another purpose. A change of use of a room requires a building warrant.