Planning Permission

[C9821]

Hello, I’m looking in to converting my detached garage to enable me to work from home. I will need to replace the garage doors to a single door, but no other work will be done to the exterior. From what I can find online, I do not need planning permission to do this. But wanted to ask for some advice on here.

Thanks.

[Argyll]

I'm in Scotland so our planning conditions may differ. You may need permission to move to business use. From the top of my head it's class 3 or 4.

if I were you I would visit your local council office and ask to speak to the duty planning officer to check.

[ahfix]

If it's a home office, then I don't think it needs a change of use.

However, you will need a building warrant if you intend to change the doors and will also need to comply with regulations such as U-values etc as it will be classed as a living space.

These conversions are pretty common so start with a call to the council.

ah

[big-all]

also sometimes you get conditions like
you cant convert unless you have sufficient parking spaces
or you cannot alter the front appearance as in must still look like a garage

[ahfix]

or you cannot alter the front appearance as in must still look like a garage

I know someone who had his conversion pass based on the garage doors remaining and then had it changed to a door and window. All was good until a neighbor complained to the council

This doesn't help the OP ... but I do wonder if you kept the garage door and then set-back a wall with door and window if you could get away with it!

ah

[Someone-Else]

I have seen quite a few "garages" that are anything but. From the outside they look just like a garage................
I guess they were changed without telling anyone, and so the big up and over door is still there.

[big-all]

I have seen quite a few "garages" that are anything but. From the outside they look just like a garage................
I guess they were changed without telling anyone, and so the big up and over door is still there.

its often a requirement to keep the appearance off uniformity from the front in the same way as restricting loft extensions visual impact to the front

[Rorschach]

Replace the garage door with one that has a door within the door, like big old barn doors or warehouse doors do. Insulate and air seal behind it. No-one will be any the wiser.

[Someone-Else]

Replace the garage door with one that has a door within the door, like big old barn doors or warehouse doors do. Insulate and air seal behind it. No-one will be any the wiser.

They will, because the door has changed, no one changes things just to spend / waste money. Leave the door as it is, and use the back door. If no back door, install one.

[dewaltdisney]

Why not get it officially approved? As long as you have parking available planners tend to approve home offices as the trend for working at home in the current thing. By getting it approved it means you have no encumbrance when you come to sell. Retrospective lawful development certificates are a difficult pathway. Just have a chat with your local planners and get an idea of requirements as Argyll said.

DWD

[wine~o]

As per DWD's post, at the minimum give your local planning dept. a call.

[Argyll]

If you are using it as an office say if you're working from home then you can get some tax beaks (I think). But if it's not properly approved you may not be eligible for any.

My ex in London had an extension put on her home for an office to work from home and I'm pretty sure she got some sort of allowance both towards the cost of her extension and her utility bills etc.

[etaf]

In the past late 1990's, (this may have changed) if you received payment / tax breaks for using a room in the house as an office , then when you sold the property, a proportion of the house was treated differently and i think capital gains applied. I cant remember the exact details, but i know before I officially worked at home the company paid for the space as well as cost of heating etc, and staff had a tax issue, so before I was officially working from home , the allowance paid and how it was paid was changed.
Just worth looking into before receiving payment (lived in England)

[dewaltdisney]

Actually that is a good point about Capital Gains Tax if it is not part of a residence then the CGT exemption cannot be claimed and you could be caught for up to 20% of any uplift in value from when you bought. However, if it is just home office space and no evidence that you run a business you should be okay. I would say it is a games room/home gym to any officials.

DWD

[Argyll]

Great point about CGT. I agree with DW I'd say it was for something else. Just don't tell the neighbours