We have an integral garage and I want to replace the door with a window and brickwork under the window.
The garage is used exclusively as a storage room. Do I need a building permit? FL
Planning expert Martin Gaine says converting an integral garage into a second living room or home office is an excellent and inexpensive way to expand your living space
MailOnline Real estate expert Myra Butterworth answers: It is unusual these days for people to use their garage to store their cars. Instead, they are usually used for storage.
If you want to convert your garage into additional living space, you’ll first need to check a number of planning issues to find out if this is possible.
For example, the municipality can prevent you from converting your garage if this reduces the space for cars and there is a parking problem in your area.
We speak to planning expert Martin Gaine for his views on what’s possible when it comes to changes to your integral garage.
Martin Gaine, a chartered urban planner, responds: Very few people use their garages to park cars anymore – they are too small for larger vehicles and who needs the hassle of jumping in and out of the car to open and close the garage door every door where you want to go somewhere?
But it’s a shame to use them just for storage, and converting an integral garage into a second living room or home office is an excellent and inexpensive way to expand your living space.
Post-war planners were sometimes so obsessed with cars that when granting building permits for new houses with integral garages, they imposed construction conditions stating that a building permit had to be obtained before the conversion
Integrated garages are a feature of residential areas from the 1970s.
At the time, planners were pro-car and insisted that every house have at least two parking spaces.
By bringing one of those spaces into the building and thereby reducing the amount of land taken up by cars, more houses could be squeezed into each spot, increasing developers’ profits.
In most cases it is permitted (meaning no building permit is required) to convert a garage into living space. You can remove the garage door, brick up the opening and add a front window without having to approach the planners.
But be careful! As always, there are gray areas in planning. Post-war planners were sometimes so obsessed with cars that when granting building permits for new houses with integral garages, they imposed construction conditions stating that planning permission had to be obtained before the conversion.
This was because they were concerned that garage conversions would reduce parking capacity and cause on-street parking problems.
Post-war planners sometimes imposed planning conditions to say that planning permission had to be obtained before the garage was converted
Check at the municipality
Councils also have the power to introduce so-called ‘Article 4 directions’ to remove specifically permitted development rights. If the municipality is of the opinion that there is a persistent parking problem in your area, it can revoke your right to convert your garage through such a designation.
If you are in a conservation area or the houses are particularly attractive, the council may decide that converting garages would be unsightly and would damage the appearance of the area. In those circumstances they could also introduce an Article 4 directive to stop garage conversions.
In other words: you cannot be sure that your home has this permitted building right. Please contact your municipality and ask for this. You can also check whether there is a reference to it in the legal package drawn up when you bought your house.
As with any work you wish to carry out under permitted development, the safest thing you can do is to apply to the council for a ‘certificate of lawful development’ to confirm that what you are proposing does not require planning permission.
If you ever sell, you can give the certificate to your buyer as proof that the works were lawful. Most importantly, it reduces the risk of enforcement action. If you renovate the garage unlawfully, the municipality can demand that the work be reversed.
When you need to apply for a building permit
If your building permissions have been revoked for any reason, this does not mean that you cannot convert your garage. It just means that you must first apply for a building permit.
This means drawing up a number of plans, completing a form and paying the associated fee. Before submitting an application, please contact the council or a planning consultant for advice on whether permission can be granted. There is no point in submitting an application if the municipality has determined that garages in your area are not allowed to be converted!
A good way to get an idea of whether garage conversions are possible is to take a walk around the neighborhood and see how many of your neighbors have already done this.
If they are a common feature, it is very likely that they will be allowed to be developed and you can do the same. If very few of your neighbors have done them, I would be very cautious about proceeding without further investigation.
Martin Gaine is a certified urban planner and author of ‘How to Get a Building Permit – An Insider’s Secrets
