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.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00485/#:~:text=The%20government%20has%20expanded%20permitted,has%20subject%20to%20significant%20debate.

It may not need change of use if you are in England as the government relaxed the rules.

I would check with your conveyancing solicitor as they were aware of your circumstances - plus you have already paid them a hefty whack for the move!

@YouveGotAFastCar so we don't think we would need any further permission to just move my mum into the outbuilding. We haven't made any changes nor even ready to make internal changes, but when this time comes we would then contact the council to find out the correct process to turn an outbuilding into a proper self contained annexe. We was not told by our solicitor that we would need to notify the council when we move in, just when we start making changes to walls etc and putting in a kitchen.

Unless you have permission for it to be a habitable space with Building Regs approval then you have done something wrong OP.

No one should be living there until works to secure BRegs are complete.

I don’t know why you have asked on here saying you don’t know, but know saying you know? Yes you could get in trouble as the use class depends on what it’s used as and you’ve changed use.

This in ♠️ spades.
Revolting nosy 🧐 gossipy bored busybodies.

Beaks in what the neighbours are doing ( or not doing) Curtain twitching like mad.

I can just imagine this sour old man muttering and firing off angry emails ( or letters) to the council.

Her council tax, gas, electric, tv, phone and water … I really hope you’ve budgeted adequately, given that you have to save up to even get this off the ground 🤔

PP is not just needed for physical development but also if there is a material change of use. The building has permission to be used for a specific purpose. If you are using it for anything else, it is likely that PP will be required.

@garciacherry this is literally spot on. All she has in the annexe is a lounge, small bedroom, toilet, small multipurpose cooker and fridge/freezer. She comes to ours to shower/ bath and wash her clothes. I am just concerned that what we are doing could get us in trouble still. We didn't think it could and was never told by our solicitor that we would have to let the council know that we have someone living in the annexe that isn't yet self contained. Lots of mixed responses on here. We will 100% be contacting the council just to let them know at least, even though we aren't doing any building work anytime soon. It's more like a garden house that she sleeps in.

The issue as others have said is that the annexe has planning permission for business use not residential. As soon as your mother started sleeping in it it became residential. Even if you haven’t yet put in a bathroom and kitchen.

So you need to apply for planning permission to change the use to residential. ASAP. And you might not get it.

Even if you are still saving to do the work you have changed the use of the building.

No your fine but you need to apply to change it’s use, it might be useful to check the planning portal and find the original planning permission to see what its use was and if there were any restrictions,assuming it wasn’t done under permitted development. I’d get the ball rolling asap even if you haven’t got the money yet to kit it out

That's the issue then. It was permitted for a different use class, probably B1. You need C3.

I don’t think I could stop myself from knocking on the busybodies door tbh!

My concern is where has your mother's money gone ?

as you say all your properties were sold to buy this place, you have a mortgage but her name is not on it. Is her name on the title deeds ?

as you say you are saving up to do the work, her money hasn't been saved in a pot for this work to be carried out ?

What will you do if planning permission for residential use is refused?

If asked I would just say she lives in your house tbh. You are allowed to occasionally sleep in your garden. Who's checking anyway? Your neighbours are awful.

I suppose you could have her sleep in the main house a few nights a week if it becomes a big problem (until they back off and forget about it).

You will find OP that the council and Building Control tell you she cannot sleep there.
Theres a big difference between a garden room and a place where someone sleeps

Youneed to speak to both

This is wrong.

What was the planning permission granted for?

Did you cover with your conveyancing solicitor that it was going to be inhabited?

If you go to you Local Council Planning Website and use the search function to find the application (use your address in the search bar) it will show you the planning permission. Look at the Decision Notice and check whether there are any conditions on it. I'd be very surprised if you are likely to get in trouble here, as the 'dwellinghouse' that you share with your mother includes the curtilage of your own house and any other buildings within it - they should all have permission for residential use providing that they don't become a separate dwellinghouse (separate curtilage and a separate planning unit)

Most Council's offer 'pre-application advice' for planning for under £200 so one way to get ahead of this would be to check the conditions as I said and then apply for that advice - then the Council knows what you;re doing and should be happy enough with that. I think this will be fine.

They also tell people they can't sleep in tents in parks.

How do they actually enforce any of it? / How do they even know?

I’d also ask your conveyancer for a copy of Building Regs approval. If there is one.

The main concern is that you're using it as a kitchen without building reg sign off. It's dangerous. Do you have carbon monoxide and smoke alarms? Are they wired in to the main house? Do you have a vent and fireproof doors? I've just done a garage conversion and they are very particular.

I worked in conveyancing for a number of years and a couple of things came to mind.

You say it had planning permission when it was built. What did that planning permission say the space was for. If it was described as an office then you may be in bother. If nothing was stipulated then it can be used as anything. Putting in a separate kitchen will mean that it could be liable for council tax.

One other thing that raised a flag for me is not telling your mortgage company that your Mum was going to be living with you. They would have wanted her to sign a form stating that she had no claim over the property - or does she? I understand that purchasing the house was a merging of funds so did your Mum give you any money to buy the house? If your solicitor knew your Mum was moving in too, as they should have advised you of this.

Finally, you say that the annexe is behind the garage and presumably hidden from the road. Is this an immediate neighbour who can see the annexe from their house? How do they actually know your Mum is living in there? Have they peered through the window?

Hope this helps.

The neighbours apparently 🥴

Thats how the council get most of their intel, they rely on it.

In terms of how is it checked or enforced. If they believe there is a contravention then they can visit.

I know you say you didn’t think you were doing anything wrong but it’s change of use and must have permission. What about fire regs approval for residential? I can’t imagine it’s compliant with things like that if it’s not built to residential requirements.

Did your solicitor know you were moving your mum into the office straight away? She might have given you more advice had she known your plans for your mum.
On a brighter note there is an exemption from council tax for elderly relatives in a self contained annexe so if you do get planning changed to residential there may be no council tax due. This may be council specific but look into it.