The Acute Shortage of Rental Accommodation Has Increased People's Interest in Granny Flats Again - but before you jump in there's more to consider than you may have imagined
Bottleneck Delays Looming
Granny Flats have been in the news more so in the past 6 to 8 years than they ever were, or certainly in living memory. Much of this 'news' related to them being offered as an 'investment' rather than housing your granny. Interest in doing this has recently jumped again due to the current severe housing shortage in Brisbane.
That interest has been given a boost with Adrian Schrinner, Brisbane's Lord Mayor announcing that Council will consider relaxing their occupancy rules for Secondary Dwellings, [their official name] aka Granny Flats.
Unlike surrounding LGA's in southeast Queensland, Brisbane City Council [BCC] have restricted Granny Flat [secondary dwelling] occupants to be blood related to occupants of the main dwelling. Most of the surrounding LGA's [Local Government Area = Council] allow them to be used as an investment.
The BCC have [until now possibly] been classifying them as a 'Dual Occupancy' if being used as an investment with then a need to qualify under the regulations applying to such.
These likely changes, coupled with the scarcity of rentals, and the substantial rent increases this has brought about, have boosted the demand for Granny Flats potentially resulting in bottlenecks in the supply chain process. To start this process on the right foot it's wise to get a survey.
Traditional Use Vs Investment Use
Traditionally granny Flats were specifically meant to house Granny, or more recently other family members viz: to provide a safe secure place of residence for an aged loved one or family member who may have special care needs adjacent to the family home, but these days its more about investment and maximizing cash flow or land use for property investors and retirees alike.
They can be costly so it's wise to start on the right foot
Whatever use it is, considering the costs associated with them these days it's very important to get things right 1st time.
Granny flats have always been fairly limited in size and had other limitations, such as maximum or minimum distance from the main dwelling to name just one which often varied from one LGA to another and often still do.
Many of these local Council regulations have changed a good deal in recent years and Councils are known to make amendments on the fly, sometimes with little or no warning. Furthermore, the regulations within the same LGA may vary according to the zoning. In other words, what may be perfectly acceptable at one address may not be at another. Some Councils are encouraging them whilst others appear to be less keen. With current housing shortages this may change.
Some Common Questions
These are the questions we frequently find people asking about Granny Flats and, in truth, many are not the sort of questions that Surveyors are trained to answer. We provide the tools and information that others use to answer some of these questions, not all. The answers to some can be found in the appropriate Australian Design Rules or Building Code, whereas others may vary from one Council to another.
Are they allowed on my block of land?
Whereabouts on my land can I legally put one?
Is there a certain distance from the boundary that it needs to be?
Can I subdivide the Granny Flat off the main house?
How big can they be?
How many square metres or bedrooms can they be?
Can I lawfully lease it out to anybody or is it only for blood relatives?
What about services such as power water and sewer? How and where do I access those?
Do services need to be separately metered?
Is there a requirement for a firewall or break / distance between the granny flat and my house?
How a Site Survey May Help
A Site Plan survey will not answer all of those questions but once you have established that you are lawfully allowed to have one at your place, investing in a Site Plan survey is the next best step to ascertain where it will best fit lawfully. In fact, it may well indicate a choice of locations and enable good design principles. It will assist you or your designer / builder to maintain correct distances from boundaries to access things like sewer and storm water [remembering that water doesn't run uphill] and other thigs such as whether it's best to build on stumps or level out some land from a slab on ground remembering that some soil may need to be retained - just to mention two.
A Site Plan survey will not just help answer those two questions at the planning stages but a whole host of other choices you will need to make, ruling things in or out etc., and there are quite a few. It will also be useful when it comes to lodging your application into council for approval and further assisting your builder to finalise his building plans, remembering that standard building plans are just that - standard - and therefore do not suit every site.
For more detailed information please visit our page on surveys for granny flats by clicking this link.