Hi there.
Our main question is: Can we convert our garage into self-contained accommodation to rent out for the academic year only?
We’re about to renovate our bog-standard semi-detached house with an attached garage. The garage, if extended to the rear, would make a very attractive living space. We think we could fund it by renting to students through the rent-a-room scheme. That said, we’d like to be able to make use of it for visitors during the summer months.
From what I’ve read so far, an accommodation like this might be subject to the requirements of the RTB. We’ve no problem meeting and ideally exceeding standards and obligations for our tenant. However, from what I read, it sounds like someone who is renting for six months can choose to stay indefinitely, and this rule trumps any agreed letting term. Do I understand this correctly?
Having a permanent tenant with no summer access to the unit ourselves makes the prospect much less attractive to us. We’re wondering whether there’s a way to create the unit in such a way that we can make it available through the rent-a-room scheme without it coming under the remit of the RTB (i.e. tenant can stay indefinitely after six months).
Our main question is: Can we convert our garage into self-contained accommodation to rent out for the academic year only?
We’re about to renovate our bog-standard semi-detached house with an attached garage. The garage, if extended to the rear, would make a very attractive living space. We think we could fund it by renting to students through the rent-a-room scheme. That said, we’d like to be able to make use of it for visitors during the summer months.
From what I’ve read so far, an accommodation like this might be subject to the requirements of the RTB. We’ve no problem meeting and ideally exceeding standards and obligations for our tenant. However, from what I read, it sounds like someone who is renting for six months can choose to stay indefinitely, and this rule trumps any agreed letting term. Do I understand this correctly?
Having a permanent tenant with no summer access to the unit ourselves makes the prospect much less attractive to us. We’re wondering whether there’s a way to create the unit in such a way that we can make it available through the rent-a-room scheme without it coming under the remit of the RTB (i.e. tenant can stay indefinitely after six months).
- We’ll likely build an internal door between house and the accommodation. Does this affect the status of the unit?
- Would common access to a utility room have any bearing on its status?
- What kind of person might have the expertise in the relevant areas (tax, planning, building regs, RTB) to guide us?