Granny annexes & garden rooms in the garden

Our garden rooms are snug, well-insulated and even come as kits that you can erect yourself.

What are the rules about garden rooms? With the cost of housing and social care rising, garden rooms and so called granny annexes provide a fantastic value solution where new space or even accommodation is required. In terms of planning and cost, when building an annexe, an annexe in the garden can be a good deal more straight-forward than ripping apart an existing building. The range of required uses; for elderly parents, returning students, older children, and grown up children with babies as well as games or guest rooms, makes them more 'family annexes' than just for grannies!


Here are some of the common questions we're asked - click on them to get to the answers, or scroll down the page:

What are the rules about garden rooms? Can I build one?

Can I live in a log cabin in my parents garden?

Can my son or daughter live in a log cabin in my garden?

Can you live in a Garden Room in your garden?

How can I build an annexe for an elderly relative?

Is there a penalty for living in the shed in the UK?

Can an annex have a kitchen?

A young couple pictured in a cabin in their parent's garden (picture for illustration purposes only )

  Other uses and questions:

Annexes provide separate accommodation usually not accessible from the main building or even completely separated from it, which has an added advantage of allowing independent living, while allowing families to remain close together. This fact alone can be particularly important where there are older children, returning from university, who want to remain at home while gaining a little independence, or who simply cannot afford to move away due to the cost of housing.

 
Granny annexes provide solutions for difficult decisions

For older people, the decision regarding care as they become frailer often leads to some difficult choices. Do you sell your house and move to an old people's home? Do you stay in a house which is too large and have home help. Perhaps you move in with a relative? These are not easy choices; loss if independence is not a good thing for people, and makes the choices very difficult. If moving in with relatives, this can often produce great strain on relationships as parents and children swap roles as the primary carer. Granny annexes and garden rooms can provide an immediate opportunity to solve this. In fact, the following two scenarios are those we most often hear when a client calls wanting options for a granny annexe.

 
Most common enquiries we receive for a granny annexe

  

Can I live in a log cabin in my parents garden, UK?

The short answer is yes, you may well be able to live in your parents garden but the longer answer is that you will need some sort of permission from the council to do so! Anything you sleep in will need permission first, and if someone tells you differently, run a mile! Also, permission depends on how large the building will be and whether your garden is big enough, or has any special conditions set, like being in a conservation area.

The quickest way to confirm this is to ask your local council's planning department, but failing that, give us a call or send a question and we'll have a friendly chat to discuss you circumstances - and don't worry, there's no obligation on your part. I you need planning, we work with experienced planners to get the job done for you.

  


What are the rules about garden rooms? Can I build one?
In many cases you don’t need full planning permission to add an outbuilding to your garden. Under England’s General Permitted Development Order (GPDO), certain structures can be built as long as they fall within the permitted development rules. These usually cover Class E buildings that are “incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse” - so, sheds, garages, home offices or garden rooms and studios.

There are conditions: the building can’t take up more than half of your garden, it can’t go in front of your house, and there are strict height limits – no taller than 2.5m if it’s close to a boundary, and up to 4m if it has a pitched roof and sits further back. The rules only apply to houses (not flats or maisonettes), and your permitted development rights must still be in place – so if they’ve been removed by an Article 4 Direction, you’ll need planning permission instead.

Sleeping in a garden room isn't covered by this, so be careful and one of our team can guide you through exactly what you need to know.

You can see more information on garden room planning under permitted development and whether this may apply to you.

Can my son live in a log cabin in my garden?

A quick answer is that your son (or daughter) might well be able to live the garden, but just remember you’ll need to get the council’s permission first. It is possible for children to live in their parents' garden in a structure such as a granny annexe, provided the relevant annexe planning permission is obtained.

The quickest way to verify this is to contact your local council’s planning department. Alternatively, why not give us a call? We’d be happy to have a friendly chat about your circumstances – no strings attached. And if you need any help with planning, we work with experienced planners to get everything sorted for you.

This is a suprisingly common situation and happens in a number of cases where older children either out grow their bedroom space, return from university and want more independence and cannot yet afford to move out.  It is also fairly common for older adult children to return home once they have moved out and found the cost of living too great, or suffer from financial issues or setbacks brought on by changes in circumstances or relationships, such as divorce or illness.

Can you live in a Garden Room in your garden?

The short answer is that potentially you can do so, but it's not automatically allowed for you to sleep in a Summer house or garden room in the garden.  'Anything you sleep in is not automatically permitted development' and neither is it a playroom or just a Summer house anymore, and so you should speak with the council to find out if you need permission.

Also, remember that a Summer house may not be well enough insulated, or provide you with the right amenities to sleep in, so you need to make sure it is designed to have the right level of insulation for sleeping in comfortably during cold or warmer conditions. You will also need to consider how it is heated if you are considering staying in it over colder or Winter months. Contact us to discuss your needs and a member of staff can speak more in-depth about options for you to sleep in a Summer house in the garden.

 

Can an annex have a kitchen?

Yes, an annex can have a kitchen, provided you have the proper planning permissions for doing so. Our built annexes have a kitchenette as standard.

I'm thinking of building an annexe for an elderly relative

If you're considering housing an older relative in your garden, it is important to make the building safe, secure and warm. It is possible for an elderly relative to live in an annex building in the garden provided you have relevant planning consent or suitable written approval from the local council. The best way to find out what the council requires in terms of planning is to call them and ask, and then call us if you need a planning consultant to help with your application.

'My parent(s) want to downsize, so they want to move into our garden and live in an annexe. That way we can keep an eye on them if they need help.'

In these cases, the child has a large garden into which the elderly parent(s) then lives in an annexe.

'I want to move into my garden and allow my children to live in the house, as they cannot afford to buy one and I don't need all that space.'

Granny annexes allow the parents to build themselves accommodation and free up their house for their children to live in.

'My children are returning from university and they need a bit more independence'

An annexe in the garden means older children remain at home, while continuing to feel more independent, having finished university.

'We need a guest room in the garden for friends and relatives'

Annexes provide the perfect extra guest accommodation for relatives and good friends to stay in occasionally.

Is there a penalty for living in the shed in the UK?

You will need to have permission to sleep in a garden building as this is not covered by permitted development and you may then find the council visits to inspect your site and to stop you doing so.

If you're planning on living in your garden shed, you would need to substantially insulate it and make sure it was up to building regulations and had suitable planning permission. Please speak with your local authority to see what is needed for your particular circumstances.

 

Whatever your needs for granny annexes, we can help with a little initial guidance through to complete installation, so please contact us for a no obligation quotation for your situation.