Mum living in annexe - complaint made by a neighbour about this. Can we get in trouble?

[Motherof1and2dogs]

I will try to keep this as short as possible but as much detail as I can. Myself, my husband and my Mum all decided it would be a good idea to sell our previous homes and all move in together, this was down to many reasons, however the agreement was Mum was to have her own independence and own place to live so we agreed to find somewhere with an Annexe. The place we bought was advertised as an Annexe. When we viewed the property the Annexe at the time was just being used for a business and has no kitchen or bathroom, just a toilet so it was more like an outbuilding/ garage and not a proper annexe.

We have been in the new place since October 2024. The Annexe is not yet self contained, my Mum has to use our bath to wash and has a make-do temporary kitchen until we save up to get her a proper kitchen and bathroom fitted.

I have just had a neighbour knock to give us the heads up that another neighbour of ours has complained to the council that we have someone "living in our garage". Can we get in trouble for this?

Our plan was to contact the council when was was ready to start the building process to get planning permission and then make it a self contained Annexe, and understand we would have to pay council tax on this eventually but as it's just 2 rooms with a toilet I didn't think we would need to notify anyone? It doesn't have its own address and Mum uses our address for her post.

I am not really sure what to expect. I really hope this doesn't cause too many problems for us. I don't need this right now, we don't make any noise, I have a 2 year old and I am 14 weeks pregnant. I want to cry because we both work full time jobs, we work hard, pay all our bills, we are nice genuine people and we are being targeted already. One reason we moved is because we wanted a quieter lifestyle (moved from a busy town location to a small village) and it's not been the best experience so far :(

Could someone please let me know what could happen to us in this situation. I'm so worried we are going to have to move again.

I suspect op hadn’t told conveyancing solicitor. Estate agent blurb will just say converted garage annex currently used as a home office etc. They’d have no idea someone would move in an adult to live there full time with no shower or fitted kitchen.

For the moment, isn’t this rather like those people who have boarded up their loft, and been told that they can’t sell the house on the basis that it is a bedroom? Whoever buys the house can of course choose to use it as a bedroom, lack of fire escape notwithstanding, because no one actually checks up n these things.

On a practical basis, The OP’s mother can sleep in the kitchen, the garden, the garage — wherever she wants. It would be problematic only if the OP were renting out the outbuilding to someone else, not a member of the family. And that, I suspect, is at the heart of the neighbour’s complaint.

@Destiny123

That's not necc true. My parents house is just one huge house, literally just like normal swing wood/ glass doors between rooms. Only entrance is the normal front door (well you could open the patio doors into "their" lounge but noone does .. they still have to pay 2 lots of concil tax as it has 2x kitchens and 2x lounges. Regardless of the fact my grandparents have been dead 20+ years and there's only my parents and my brother living there
Your parents need to go back to the council. Most houses over a certain size have more than one sitting room and around me many houses have 2 kitchens (everyday kitchen and show kitchen or main kitchen and caterers kitchen) and it's all one council tax bill as it's all in the one dwelling

the rooms that count here are her bedroom and living space. She’s living there. It’s being used as residential accommodation. The building therefore needs to meet residential building standards and have planning permission. I’m not sure from the sound of things that you can afford this plus a new kitchen and bathroom. Is there room for your mum to move into the main house? If not she may need to present as homeless to the council. She will qualify for over 55’s housing so could get a nice flat and apply for universal credit to help with bills. Can you afford to repay her investment into your house?

Why? Because they’re taking the piss. And they aren’t paying council tax now are they? Meaning we are all paying for their free loading arse.
oh the OP - after being outed by the neighbour - states she of course intends to get planning and of course intends to pay council tax. Yeah right. Are they going to back date it to Oct 2024?

Neighbours might be worried about domestic abuse of OP’s mum or perhaps modern slavery. Old woman forced to sleep outside in a garage annex……appears to do housework…

Not all nosy parkers are looking out for the tax man.

She could live there illegally if the neighbour hadn’t complained. However if the council come round and the place doesn’t meet building regs and there’s no appropriate planning they can insist that nobody sleeps there and the cooker etc is removed.

Incorrect. It’s problematic because she is living and sleeping in a building that does not have planning permission for that use.

@Sherararara you really need to watch that imagination of yours. You really believe stuff you think up is real?

The op is planning to get planning permission when they are ready. You coming up with some weird arse imaginings that this only came about due to a nosy neighbour is kind of funny if it wasn't so rude.

Stop thinking you know stuff. You just come across as weird.

@Sherararara and no why would they back date it? The building doesn't have a kitchen or bathroom at present so isn't chargeable for council tax. You are so angry that you aren't thinking straight. Why are you in such a rage?

Planning permission is not something you get ‘when you are ready’. It’s like saying you are driving a car on public roads and plan to take your test when you are ready. It’s a requirement, not an optional extra!

You may need to contact the council and push it past them. There are rules and regs for these scenarios to stop folk having 'Beds in Sheds' as that is a whole different thing and no one wants that.

You don’t need planning permission or extra council tax, you are living as one family (albeit multi generational). It would only qualify for council tax if it was fully self contained which it isn’t. Additionally even if later down the line you got planning permission for a fully self contained annex, in this case as it’s your mum using it, it would be called a granny annex and wouldn’t be liable for council tax until it was occupied by someone not in the family. Sounds like the neighbours can get over it.

Except I do know stuff. I know the OP has the incorrect planning permission. I know she is breaking the rules. I know that what she says she is planning to do in ‘the future’ (when, 10 years from now?) holds no water because anyone can say anything. There is no guarantee she would be granted planning permission. Then what would she do? Standard practice when buying a house and intending to make changes that require planning is to make enquiries with the council before the purchase to confirm that they would likely accept the change. Did she do that? Nooooo….

She does need planning permission to change the use of the property to residential @Quicksilver15 - the reasons for this have been explained by pp.

Bringing the building up to scratch is irrelevant in terms of getting planning permission for change of use
Planning permission has nothing to do with whether it can physically be a habitable space….that’s building regs.

@MabelMaybe I was just thinking about that thread too! The gym that became so much more. I think there were pictures of the builders with somewhat relaxed attitude to H&S, and the thread was pretty much united that it was the wrong thing for the neighbour to be doing that 'conversion'.

Aargh. No. People cannot legally move family to live in an outbuilding unless it has residential planning permission and meets the relevant building regs WHICH ARE DIFFERENT TO THOSE FOR A SHED GYM OR GARDEN OFFICE! This is a separate building where someone is sleeping. The fact that the bathroom and kitchen are rudimentary is irrelevant. In fact that make make the building more unsafe.

Well the neighbour can bugger off for a start. You don't have anyone 'living' in your 'garage'. You have an outbuilding with a wc and someone who lives at your address, not separately, and has their cooking and washing facilities in the main property, sleeps in the converted outbuildings. Clearly the neighbour is worried you will apply to get an annexe and then a separate property. They will object.

You need planning advice on the chances of getting permission for a granny annexe.

This, absolutely!
It's a complete fire hazard.

Wrong. You need planning permission to use it as a residence aka a place where someone sleeps

Definitely not as a utility is not classed as a habitable space for starters
They have different fire and escape requirements
They have different ventilation and extraction requirements
Utilities do not need windows
etc

Why would you make it into a truly self contained annex? Why pay council tax and amenities. When you can keep it as one household? It makes it harder to sell in future and costs more at the time. Plus as she gets older the division becomes less important. I’m not saying don’t have a kichenwtte and accessible bathroom.

Because it's a detached garage/office/outbuilding that absolutely doesn't meet safety regulations for anyone to be living in as it is.

I was referring to a poster who thought just because a building could meet standards that would be enough for the planners to approve it.
That is completely irrelevant

If you see my posts you’ll see I am saying the same as you.