Granny flat in garden - short term or long term rent

[gardeners]

We renovated an tiny old cottage at the back of our house recently to a one-bedroomed house. It shares electric supply with us but has it own other services. It is in a very touristy location where most houses are holiday homes. We have used it only for family and friends last year. We had thought we would possibly do airbnb this year but now a young local couple has asked to rent it from us. Also, how should we adjust our LPT or should it be registered as a new house. We did not get any planning as we were advised it was not necessary as a "renovation". Would we have to register with RTB and what are the long-term implications of that.

 

[MelF]

Is the cottage already registered with land registry as a separate standalone dwelling? Unlikely if you share electricity/services etc.

Worth checking if you need planning to use as a separate dwelling at least - a lot of people installing garden rooms and renting them out these days, and I believe you def need permission for those since they're not registered as standalone properties.

 

[Leo]

It sounds like the the property wasn't considered suitably habitable for it to be declared as a residence for Local Property Tax purposes. Revenue suggest you consider whether the property has a sound roof and windows, electricity, water, and sanitary services.

If it wasn't habitable, then renovating it to bring it back into use almost certainly requires planning permission and all works to be compliant with the current building regs. Depending on your local authority and their feelings on the suitability of the development, they may seek to have your work undone. See here for an example of an authority addressing an unauthorised development where a couple mistakenly thought a 30k renovation on a 400k property was exempt.

As MelF says, lots of people have installed garden rooms and have let them via AirBnB and the likes, but that is illegal even if not heavily enforced.

 

[gardeners]

It sounds like the the property wasn't considered suitably habitable for it to be declared as a residence for Local Property Tax purposes. Revenue suggest you consider whether the property has a sound roof and windows, electricity, water, and sanitary services.

If it wasn't habitable, then renovating it to bring it back into use almost certainly requires planning permission and all works to be compliant with the current building regs. Depending on your local authority and their feelings on the suitability of the development, they may seek to have your work undone. See here for an example of an authority addressing an unauthorised development where a couple mistakenly thought a 30k renovation on a 400k property was exempt.

As MelF says, lots of people have installed garden rooms and have let them via AirBnB and the likes, but that is illegal even if not heavily enforced.

Where should I go for advice. Should we tell council or get advice from architect or planning expert? Should we inform LTP?

 

[Leo]

Where should I go for advice. Should we tell council or get advice from architect or planning expert? Should we inform LTP?

Speak to a local planning expert, they will be familiar with the regs and the local development plan. They will also be familiar with the planners in the local authority and what is the best way to regularise the situation.