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Original poster

Neighbour’s garage conversion will devalue our house

197 replies

PeedOffNeighbour · 16/07/2025 22:18

NC’d as previous posts give away the area I’m from.

My house is ‘link detached’ - separated from my neighbour by their garage.

They have applied for planning permission to convert their garage to a habitable room and this has been successful.

My written objection was thrown out - I said that essentially it would make my house semi detached and this would adversely impact my property value (backed up by local estate agents I consulted).

I am now reviewing my options and rule nothing out. Does anyone else find the approval of such plans utterly unfair?

OP posts:
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6
Sprockergirl · 17/07/2025 08:59

I think our house must be similar to yours, it goes:

Neighbors house
Neighbors garage
Our house
Our garage

We converted ours recently with no issue as it's on the end but we've new people moving in next door soon and it's on my mind that they might want to convert theirs too (lots do this on our street). But I think as long as it's properly Insulated and sound proofed it shouldn't impact you too much - in fact if they kept it as a garage and used it for band practice or using loud tools this would be way worse!

And presumably you are still detached upstairs so your sleep won't be impacted?

MellowPinkDeer · 17/07/2025 09:00

Your house was already semi detached

Myotherusernamesafunnyone · 17/07/2025 09:06

SquishyGloopyBum · 16/07/2025 22:38

It’s a long established principle that property values aren’t a planning consideration. You won’t ever win with that argument.

This.

tumblingdowntherabbithole · 17/07/2025 09:07

dogcatkitten · 17/07/2025 08:58

Look at your deeds (or their deeds) and see what is said about the garage, as others have said it may not be allowed to change use. You can do this on line at land registry for a small fee. Consult a lawyer if you want to try and proceed with some sort of legal challenge, but probably a waste of money unless you can find some better reason to object.

Can you get other neighbours to object on principle or have they already done it (converted their garages)?

Edited

Wouldn’t the planning permission have already been rejected if this was the case?

MissyB1 · 17/07/2025 09:10

Laughing at the sneering at link detached on here 😂 they are not semi detached because a garage isn't a living space - unless its converted into one. OP hopefully the conversion will have to meet same building regs as an extension, and will have the correct insulation etc.. The worst part I suspect will be the noise ftom the actual build. Go and talk to your neighbours and try and get agreement about the build process, reasonable times etc...

We thought about converting our garage into a laundry /shower room, then I realised it could potentially damage our relationship with our neighbours (joined on the other side of the garage), so we shelved the idea as we really like them!

MsDDxx · 17/07/2025 09:17

PonyPatter44 · 16/07/2025 22:33

"Link detached" is just "semi with delusions of grandeur, though". Do they really carry much more value than a semi?

I suppose you could always refuse permission for them to come onto your property in any way, and not allow them to attach anything to your walls.

It’s already attached 😂

R0setheHat · 17/07/2025 09:19

Years ago when we were looking for our home and going to viewings we went to see a link detached house and were told it was only attached garage to garage. It was really beautiful and had been fully renovated but the garages had been converted so as you say it wasn’t link detached anymore it was a semi. The owner showing us around kind of brushed it off as everyone there had had their garages converted. We went for a more rural fixer upper detached house in the end and I’m glad we did, but as prospective buyer, it was annoying being told by the agent it was link detached and when we turned up to view it actually wasn’t and it was a major reason why we rejected the house at the time. But we did really want detached and only agreed to look at the house because we were told there were no adjoining living space walls. As soon as we saw that wasn’t the case we weren’t going to be persuaded no matter how lovely the house was. So I guess it may rule out a section of buyers for you in the future but not sure about devaluation

MsDDxx · 17/07/2025 09:28

tumblingdowntherabbithole · 17/07/2025 09:07

Wouldn’t the planning permission have already been rejected if this was the case?

Edited
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No, planning officers don’t look at deeds. That’s on the person applying to do so.

BlankBlankBlank14 · 17/07/2025 09:34

LifeBeginsToday · 16/07/2025 22:38

I work for a council, and the perceived value of a house or fears of a house devaluing is never a reason to reject a planning application.

i came on to say exactly this.

brunettemic · 17/07/2025 09:36

So what is your solution other than complaining about it? It’s their house, they can do what they want as long as it’s legal.

Cleanmessyhouse · 17/07/2025 09:48

Hulabalu · 16/07/2025 22:48

I think that should only be allowed if garages are adjoining garages. Otherwise, and perhaps this is harsh, they should be made to compensate you on losses if you ever do sell,

How on earth would compensation to that effect work in such a scenario? Why on earth would compensation be paid?

This thread has some absolutely bonkers replies. Your neighbour is doing nothing wrong. It was always a risk when you bought the property. The only person who cares about the value of your home is you. Not your neighbour or the council. It’s tough luck.

Heronwatcher · 17/07/2025 09:52

This wouldn’t bother me in the slightest as a buyer. I’d probably be glad a precedent has been set so I could do mine one day.

Plus in this day and age with the cost of living crisis, housing shortage, mass working from home, elderly relatives not being able to afford to stay living independently etc I don’t think it would be fair at all to stop this sort of development- often converted garages are essential to enable people to carry on living in houses in a degree of comfort.

NewsdeskJC · 17/07/2025 09:54

There is nowt you can do, only change the way you feel about it.
Link detached? Semi? Many may look and think "oh good, I can do a garage conversion too.

tumblingdowntherabbithole · 17/07/2025 09:54

MsDDxx · 17/07/2025 09:28

No, planning officers don’t look at deeds. That’s on the person applying to do so.

Show quote history

Interesting! Ridiculous, imo, but interesting!

Isittimeformynapyet · 17/07/2025 09:56

Jc2001 · 17/07/2025 08:28

To be fair, "linked detached" is just estate agent BS, it always was a semi.

It won't devalue your home.

Anyway, you will still have your garage between the 2 living areas so noise won't be an issue.

Edited
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Nope. She won't. See this explanation:

Which indicates that the houses are: house, garage, house, garage etc; rather than house, garage, garage, house... so only one garage separating the houses, therefore the OP won't have a garage between them if the neighbours convert.

SophiaSW1 · 17/07/2025 10:02

The objection you raised isn’t a valid planning objection. I also didn’t follow your view that it reduces the value of your property. If anything it would show it can be extended in the same way which would increase its value. But regardless, the impact on the value of your property isn’t a valid planning objection.

Isittimeformynapyet · 17/07/2025 10:07

Twelftytwo · 17/07/2025 08:08

Arguably if there's still A Garage between you and next door (yours) then when you sell your agent could probably still call it link detached.

I don't think it will make loads of difference, would be worse if they were building on top of their garage.

Well there isn't still a garage between them, so it's not "arguable".

Foreverm0re · 17/07/2025 10:11

How are people not getting the difference with it being a habitable room and no longer being classed as “link-detached”?

IMustDoMoreExercise · 17/07/2025 10:13

I think that most people who are thinking of buying a link detached house will realise that if they or their neighbour do a garage conversion then it will make their house a terraced and so this will already be built in to the price of the house.

Yabberwok · 17/07/2025 10:33

Surely it increases the value as someone who is looking to buy yours will see the potential to improve floor space/room numbers

Floatlikeafeather2 · 17/07/2025 10:35

Brahumbug · 17/07/2025 07:48

Link detached may be a paradox, but it is definitely not an oxymoron.

Show quote history

It is a classic oxymoron. Nothing can be linked (to something) and detached (not attached to anything) so text book definition of an oxymoron. What it's not, is a paradox.

user1471538283 · 17/07/2025 10:37

We are linked detached and I would be upset if my neighbour converted hers but others in the street have done so and it hasn't devalued any property. If anything because of the increased living space they've gone up in price. I wouldn't do it because in my head they are now terraced.

mrsm43s · 17/07/2025 10:39

Surely a row of "link detached" are effectively a row of terraced houses, but that are priced as semis by virtue of not being fully attached (and thereby usually having back garden access via the garage.)

So I don't think changing the use of the linking bit matters to the price. The person converting would likely lose their garden access via the garage, but will gain a habitable room - so it's personal preference of what works for them.

I think the new habitable space will likely be next to the stairs/hall anyway, and probably won't be as noisy or as smelly as having a garage next to you.

Theseventhmagpie · 17/07/2025 10:43

WicksWickLighter · 16/07/2025 22:34

The houses are all detached but the garage for each house is sandwiched between your house and the neighbour, repeat. By allowing a link detached house to convert their garage you make yourself and the neighbour you are attached to semi-detached as a habitable room is now next to you. Some have both garages next to each other so house, garage, garage, house. Most are house, garage, house, garage. It isn't a semi-detached house. It is detached with a garage space in between each one, usually considered better than a normal detached house on a new build estate which is often only 1m gap between for the paths to go down the sides of the houses.

Usually they are not allowed to be converted. It is often in the deeds that the garage is to remain a garage. Planning usually deny change of use to habitable dwelling because it changes the street scene and affects the house next door, as OP has described, devaluing their house in doing so.

Edited
Show quote history

Well explained.
If everyone on the row of linked detached did this wouldn’t they become a row of terraces?

TizerorFizz · 17/07/2025 10:43

Semi detached houses are joined in any way! Garage to garage doesn’t make them detached! You cannot, and never could, walk around a “link detached house” on all 4 sides. They never were detached. Most just had a garage as a buffer zone. So it’s just a sales technique but they are semis. The link is a garage or sometimes a conservatory. Sometimes they have annoying shared drives and shared maintenance costs - and arguments over car parking. I’d always go for proper detached. If the garage is a prominent part of the frontage, and just joined to the OPs garage, the conversion won’t make any difference as she’s not living next to the newly habitable space. The front of the house could even be improved as two prominent garage doors doesn’t look great anyway.