Splitting house to create holiday let

[larrythelabrador]

Looking to purchase a property that is currently a 6 bedroom house that is run as a B&B.
I am considering splitting it in to 2 & running one half as a 3 bedroom holiday let,
The house already has 2 lounges, 2 entrances & 2 kitchens & 2 staircases, the only change really will be
to add another fire door to the single downstairs door that is the only connection between the 2 parts.
What planning issues am I likely to run into?

[wallypott]

What country are you in?

[larrythelabrador]

What country are you in?

Sunny UK

[greenbarn]

You'll get conflicting answers depending on who you ask; many owners have simply started running a dwelling as a holiday let and not considered planning permission, and the chances of it coming back to bite them are probably small. Ditto Building Regs, which is probably a more important area as it covers safety aspects and provisions for escape in fire, but the significant changes are relatively recent so wouldn't affect a lot of properties.


The reality is that what you are considering is a Change of Use. Your own local council's Planning department will determine if that change requires PP or not; likewise Building Control for the suitability of the building for a holiday let. The two don't necessarily go hand in hand; you might need Building Regs approval but not PP, or vice versa.

I've no idea what sanctions might be taken against an owner who was reported for running a business without PP, or if they had a fire in a property which was then shown not to have complied with the Building Regs in place at the time the change of use took place.

Here's a lot of blurb that may or may not help; it does drift off a bit into areas of planning specific to B&B's, you might want to skip that bit but I've left it in anyway; it's a wonderful example of lack of joined up thinking across the country:

Key facts
Planning permission and building regulations apply if you are considering starting a business offering serviced or self-catering accommodation, or if you plan to convert, extend or make structural alterations to an existing property or construct a new building.
Contact the planning department of your local authority for advice on planning permission.
Asbestos can be found in buildings and can pose a serious health risk. You must identify whether the building contains asbestos, keep an up-to-date record of the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials, assess any risk, and prepare a plan to manage that risk.

Essential first steps
Planning permission and building regulations are the essential first steps if you are considering offering serviced or self-catering accommodation. Serviced accommodation includes:
hotels
guesthouses
bed and breakfasts
farmhouses
inns

Planning permission
You should contact the planning department of your local authority for advice on planning permission at a very early stage if you are considering:
starting a new business
converting or extending your premises.
Planning policies on providing tourism businesses, especially visitor accommodation, will be set out in the authority's Local Development Framework.

'Change of use'
Even if you only wish to start offering simple bed and breakfast in your home or to equip an existing building as a holiday cottage where no structural alterations to the property will be carried out, you may need 'change of use' planning permission to do so.

Change of use consent
There is sometimes confusion about whether converting a property from a residential dwelling to a bed and breakfast establishment requires the owner to gain 'change of use' approval. This confusion stems from two sources - the first being that there are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes 'change of use' and the second from the fact that there are two change of use requirements:
the first related to planning permission
the second related to building regulations.
Planning permission change of use consent
In planning terms, consent from the council must be gained if there is any 'material' change of use to a property or building. In most cases it is relatively straightforward as to what constitutes a material change of use (eg converting a house into a commercial building or a block of flats).

However, there is a grey area as to how much change is allowed before that change materially affects the purpose for which building is used. That is, at what point does a residential house become principally a premises offering accommodation for visitors? This issue is particularly relevant for bed and breakfast properties where the property is simultaneously a residential property and a commercial property.

To clarify this area, local authorities have developed a range of measures to determine whether a material change of use has occurred and planning consent is required. These rules generally relate to the proportion of the property that has been given over to the Bed and Breakfast (B&B) business, which can be determined in a number of ways, the most usual relating to:
the number of bedrooms as a proportion of the total number of bedrooms on the property, or
the area of the building used for the Bed and Breakfast (B&B) as a proportion of the total building.
However, some local authorities use the 'six-bed rule', ie consent for change of use must be sought where the business provides six or more bedspaces for customers.

If you are considering operating a Bed and Breakfast (B&B), you should consult with the local authority planning officers to determine whether change of use consent is required.

Building regulations change of use consent
The second change of use requirement is under the Building Regulations 2000.

Under the Building Regulations, there is a material change of use where there is a change in the purposes for which, or the circumstances in which a building is used, so that after the change 'the building is used as an hotel or a boarding house, where previously it was not'. As with determining whether planning consent is required, different local authorities have different guidelines as to whether a property is deemed to be a hotel or boarding house under these regulations. Potential Bed and Breakfast (B&B) operators should check with their local authority to determine whether change of use consent is required.

Note also that the Building Regulations' definition of material change of use differs substantially from the meaning of 'material change of use' originally in the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 (now in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990), which has given rise to a great deal of litigation. Planning permission may be required for a change of use where Building Regulation approval is not needed and vice versa.

If consent is required, you must make an application using the 'Full Plans' application process, as domestic buildings that are not exclusively used as private dwellings (eg holiday accommodation and dwellings providing bed and breakfast) are subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 .

Please note that even if planning consent is not required, you may still require building regulations consent. You may also require building regulations consent even if you are not contemplating any structural changes in turning your house into a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) establishment.

Granting planning permission
Local authorities' policies on granting planning permission vary and any proposal will be checked against these policies. In deciding whether or not to grant planning permission, where it is needed, the effects on neighbours and the environment, loss of residential accommodation, traffic generation, access from the highway, car parking facilities and the number of bedrooms offered for letting, are all types of issues that an authority may take into consideration.

Restrictions on what you can do are usually stricter in specially protected areas such as:
National Parks
Green Belts
Conservation Areas
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Note! You may also need consent for any signage for your property (see Signs for your Premises ).


Building regulations
Building Regulations apply whenever a building is erected, extended, materially altered or made subject to a material change of use. They also cover other works and fittings such as:
new drainage and sanitary installations
new heating installations
structural alterations to a building
alterations which have an effect on existing means of escape in fire
replacement windows and external doors in dwellings
electrical installations in dwellings
change to a building's energy status and renovation or replacement of thermal elements of a building (such as re-roofing, replacement cladding, re-plastering, dry lining, external render, and renovation or replacement of existing floors).
Note! Even if you are not thinking of altering your house to accommodate bed and breakfast guests, and planning permission is not required, you may still be required to do work to your property in order to meet building regulations requirements. Again, you need to contact the building control department of your local authority as early as possible.

[Big Sis..]

What country are you in?

Sunny UK

Ah I love an optimist.......

[larrythelabrador]

Greenbarn Thanks for taking the trouble to reply
I have made an appointment with architects in the first instance & will see what they suggest.
It certainly doesn't look exactly clear cut.

[larrythelabrador]

What country are you in?

Sunny UK

Ah I love an optimist.......

It's always sunny in Cornwall

[greenbarn]

It certainly doesn't look exactly clear cut.

Local Government, innit?

[barbersdrove]

We have done just that and went through all the official procedures. We applied for planning permission had to submit full plans and building regulations had to be adhered to and were inspected throughout. The property then was subdivided for council tax purposes and business rates were applied to the annexe. We don't pay anything at the moment as there is a small business relief in effect for businesses that make less than a certain amount a year.

We then decided to convert our garage to a second unit and nowadays you do not need planning permission to convert but we did as we were then not considered to be 'residential' premises but 'commercial' and therefore subject to different rules.

One thing they were very concerned about was that it should not be divided in such a way that at some point in the future it could be lived in by another family, thereby increasing the number of residential properties in the street by stealth.

[larrythelabrador]

Well, spoken to architects & building control, what a nightmare!
Now seriously considering if it's worth doing
By changing one half to holiday let it triggers building reg,s which mean that the cottage part have to meet new building regulations, that means ripping out the perfect floors, walls & ceilings.
Ho hum..........................

[greenbarn]

By changing one half to holiday let it triggers building reg,s which mean that the cottage part have to meet new building regulations, that means ripping out the perfect floors, walls & ceilings.
Ho hum..........................

What...........???

Is that to prevent fire transfer through the building fabric?

[larrythelabrador]

By changing one half to holiday let it triggers building reg,s which mean that the cottage part have to meet new building regulations, that means ripping out the perfect floors, walls & ceilings.
Ho hum..........................

What...........???

Is that to prevent fire transfer through the building fabric?

Noise, fire & to meet current new build thermal insulation reg,s!

Just down the road from this property is another where they have recently changed part of their house to a holiday let, there is no record on planning portal of them applying !!!

[barbersdrove]

I'm sure many people do do it without going to planning but if there ever was a fire and someone was caught in it and even worse killed what then? plus the building and contents situation is special too. we have a policy with a good company who recognise this kind if set up but if you only have normal domestic policy then that is another problem on the 'what if' horizon.

[larrythelabrador]

I'm sure many people do do it without going to planning but if there ever was a fire and someone was caught in it and even worse killed what then? plus the building and contents situation is special too. we have a policy with a good company who recognise this kind if set up but if you only have normal domestic policy then that is another problem on the 'what if' horizon.

I think you have hit the nail on the head there!
Had a long chat with chap in building control who was actually very nice, he said they don't have the resources to go round inspecting & issuing enforcement notices but the problem would occur if you had say a fire & someone was injured. You would then be deep in the mire!

[tim441]

just to help your depression....might it also have a CGT implication?

on any final sale will you then get PPR relief on your residential part... and a CGT calc on the let?

Of course CGT might be very low or nil right now due to reliefs etc. But if house prices were to rise.... what then? Big IF!!!!!!

I am sure someone out there will have better knowledge than me about the implications......