I am looking to get a granny annexe built shortly due to my dad passing away and my mum not really dealing to well. I am more than happy to have the thing built and for my mum to effectively move in. Where I am struggling is to find a company that fits the bill and I can trust.

Money isn’t really an issue as we are selling her house so will have approx 100k to get the right building done. Has anyone had one built? And recommendations or things to avoid? Any advice would be gratefully received

cheers

Firstly are you detached at the moment? Then subsequently are you going for a separate build or an extension to current property. Will she have her own means of access/egress. Planning issues. Build type, cheapest/quickest option being two skins of block with a nice monocouche render finish. Plenty of insulation, 100mm cavity with quilt then a 50 mm insulated board internally to keep your bills down. Current boiler big enough to supply 3/4 more rads, enough water pressure to run further outlets. Enough juice left at the fuse board. What you having in it? Self contained ie kitchen/kitchenette, full bathroom? If she’s old (no offence) would a proper wet room be of benefit. I don’t see it as anything a good quality builder can’t do. “Specialist” companies usually come with specialist prices.

Check out potential council tax implications.

^^ yup, if the annex has its own water supply/bathroom/ kitchen it will have its own council tax bill.

But if its done as an extension no one will know. What’s the kitchen for its not a kitchen its a utility etc etc.

If it’s done as an extension, my colleagues across the corridor will be popping out to have a look and decide!

Check out the VOA website for more details – not my area so I’m not able to advise you.

Cheers guys

my house is terraced so there would be no separate access for the annexe. We are fine that the access would be through our house. The plan was to use our gas, elec and water supply but have a separate boiler. Didnt realise about council tax. I thought that as it wasn’t a separate address it wouldnt change. Will look at that though. It will not be done as an extension though

I’d do it as an extension personally.

The main problem with an extension is that it will block out most of next doors light. Otherwise it would be a good idea

You need to speak to planning first as you may well have an issue trying to do what you envisage.

^^ yup, if the annex has its own water supply/bathroom/ kitchen it will have its own council tax bill.

Nope, not (fully) true.

We’ve got planning to convert one of our outbuildings into a Granny Annex and one of the conditions is that it is NOT a separate property (and can’t be separately sold). Therefore no separate council tax nor service costs.

Suits us as we were just going to attach it to our services; it does mean that we’ll just go up a band or so (not sure how though).

b r, that’s exactly the set up we are going for

^^ yup, if the annex has its own water supply/bathroom/ kitchen it will have its own council tax bill.

Nope, not (fully) true.

We’ve got planning to convert one of our outbuildings into a Granny Annex and one of the conditions is that it is NOT a separate property (and can’t be separately sold). Therefore no separate council tax nor service costs.

Suits us as we were just going to attach it to our services; it does mean that we’ll just go up a band or so (not sure how though).

Not what we were told by our planning/council dept. as the annex has its own kitchen/bathroom/water supply it is classed as seperate living space to our property, ( a living area that could be rented out as a seperate part of the property),so we recieved a seperate council tax charge.
This was challenged and we lost.
Unless different councils take different views, so advice before hand may be prudent.

Sorry op I’m missing something here. Are you building something or converting something? And single storey won’t kill that much light surely.

Building something new.

even though it is a terraced row the houses are all different, and we already have a two storey extension at the back. If we were to build out any further it would block off the light to the neighbours kitchen entirely.

This would be a separate building sitting about 10 to 15 meters away from ours

And it will be my explanations. Not used to this sort of thing!

What about something under permitted development?

Forgive my ignorance. No idea what you mean!

when you say – has its own water supply

you mean on the same meter as main house

or seperate meter

you mean if it has a bathroom / and or kitchen it incurs extra council tax

Can’t be done under permitted development.

Double post.

Is it worth considering selling up OP and buying a larger property with an existing annex…?

Not related to the technicalities of the build etc but more the practical sure of things.

I appreciate its your father and this is not meant to be offensive or anything but have you thought about the long term? We have very recently been in a similar position with the MiL but in the end my wife felt that she could not risk end up being her mums full time career of it came to that.

Even if she was in health the thought of sharing space for what could be another 10-20 years was not something we could manage. Yes she would have her own accommodation etc but how often would she end up in our house for the evening? How reliant on its would she become for shopping, cooking, general day to day living that she would manage perfectly well if she were not with us.

It may sound a bit selfish (it may even be a bit selfish) but if you haven’t thought about it/spoken about it you should.

Maybe look at moving your dad a closer so you can spend more time together but you both maintain your independence?

As a mortgage adviser if you need a mortgage can be harder to get on a property with a granny annexe not impossible but be aware

How much is it to buy next door (or few doors/streets away)? Might be better financially even if you need to remortgage as you Will end up with a lot more equity.

Building something new.

even though it is a terraced row the houses are all different, and we already have a two storey extension at the back.
If your house has already been extended that much I’d be very surprised if planning were to allow you to build more – you seem to be ignoring the planning aspect completely.

Depends when the last extension was done – isn’t it 7 years before its incorporated?

my house is terraced so there would be no separate access for the annexe. We are fine that the access would be through our house. The plan was to use our gas, elec and water supply but have a separate boiler. Didnt realise about council tax. I thought that as it wasn’t a separate address it wouldnt change. Will look at that though. It will not be done as an extension though

Let me know if you want any advice about gas, as I work in the industry – whereabout in the country is the house?

Not related to the technicalities of the build etc but more the practical sure of things.

I appreciate its your father and this is not meant to be offensive or anything but have you thought about the long term? We have very recently been in a similar position with the MiL but in the end my wife felt that she could not risk end up being her mums full time career of it came to that.

Even if she was in health the thought of sharing space for what could be another 10-20 years was not something we could manage. Yes she would have her own accommodation etc but how often would she end up in our house for the evening? How reliant on its would she become for shopping, cooking, general day to day living that she would manage perfectly well if she were not with us.

It may sound a bit selfish (it may even be a bit selfish) but if you haven’t thought about it/spoken about it you should.

dannybgoode I see your point, but you could look at it the other way too. My parents have already decided that when the time comes (probably not that far away now unfortunately) that my mum’s mum cannot look after herself, their dining room is getting converted into an extra room for her. This is due to the way that my dad’s mum was cared for in hospital and, basically, left to die and we still don’t think she saw a doctor in months. Of course, when the time arrives it means me and my siblings will have to do the same for them.

Cheers J4mie.

On the south coast. I work for one of the big energy companies so definitely put off storage heaters!

Bit of a rubbish story but my dad took his own life just before last Christmas and my mum just feels lonely and isn’t coping. There is only so much you can say to a cat. Her moving down the bottom of the garden is just as much for me as it is for her. Both me and my wife get on with her really well and I see it as my duty to do the right thing