Splitting one house into two
Discussion
There seems to be quite a few folk on here who are very knowledgeable about this kind of thing so I thought I'd try and ask. We're currently looking at splitting the family home into two separate houses for rental purposes (ie. creating two semi detached) and to my simple mind it seems fairly simple but I have a few questions about whether it can be done.
Firstly, here's the current setup showing the house and boundary, the blue line is the current access;
Next, here's how we're proposing the split, the blue line on the south side shows the proposed new opening and the green lines would be the area set aside for parking and access. The yellow line is the line down which the house will be divided;
So, how do planners and the authorities look upon projects like this? The house is in an area where there is a shortage of affordable houses, they're mainly big, detached jobbies that rarely drop below £500k. Our line of thinking is that this not only creates an extra house without any major modifications but also creates something a bit more affordable. Are they likely to see it this way and what's the current government policy likely to dictate?
The house itself lends itself to splitting into two, the problem is that there's not enough parking in its current state for 2 houses. Our plan is to open the boundary up on the south side onto the road (I've marked it blue on the picture) and dig out an area of the garden sufficient for parking two cars. Will this be acceptable? There would be no room to turn the cars around and they would have to be reversed onto the road. The road itself is basically a small lane, enough for one car at a time and has a relatively low flow of traffic so it wouldn't pose any problems to reverse out, in fact everyone on the lane does it, but are there regulations that state that you have to be able to turn around?
Any input or advice appreciated!
Firstly, here's the current setup showing the house and boundary, the blue line is the current access;
Next, here's how we're proposing the split, the blue line on the south side shows the proposed new opening and the green lines would be the area set aside for parking and access. The yellow line is the line down which the house will be divided;
So, how do planners and the authorities look upon projects like this? The house is in an area where there is a shortage of affordable houses, they're mainly big, detached jobbies that rarely drop below £500k. Our line of thinking is that this not only creates an extra house without any major modifications but also creates something a bit more affordable. Are they likely to see it this way and what's the current government policy likely to dictate?
The house itself lends itself to splitting into two, the problem is that there's not enough parking in its current state for 2 houses. Our plan is to open the boundary up on the south side onto the road (I've marked it blue on the picture) and dig out an area of the garden sufficient for parking two cars. Will this be acceptable? There would be no room to turn the cars around and they would have to be reversed onto the road. The road itself is basically a small lane, enough for one car at a time and has a relatively low flow of traffic so it wouldn't pose any problems to reverse out, in fact everyone on the lane does it, but are there regulations that state that you have to be able to turn around?
Any input or advice appreciated!
Are the planners likely to be able to come out and visit so that they can get an impression of what we would like to do? I'll give them a bell tomorrow.
We realise it's not entirely simple, we've loosely reckoned on £50k to do the work for plumbing, electric, gas and the other bits and pieces. I expect once you start adding in planning and architect fees and a new kitchen and other bits and pieces then the budget will rapidly disappear.
We realise it's not entirely simple, we've loosely reckoned on £50k to do the work for plumbing, electric, gas and the other bits and pieces. I expect once you start adding in planning and architect fees and a new kitchen and other bits and pieces then the budget will rapidly disappear.
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