Hi All, I have found a single large property in an urban area of NSW that is split into 4 separate dwellings. It is very nicely done, each has its own private access, kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and car space. I have been told (need to confirm) that the owners have got council approval for all the building work. My question is the legality of renting out all 4 dwellings separately? Am I likely to have issues getting insurance? I also expect I could have issues with metering for power/water as well as bins? Any help/thoughts appreciated. Thanks, Scott
First port of call would be the local council to check approvals. For properties like this that may not be approved under current regulations, it may still have "existing use rights". I've seen some of these types of properties where the electricity is separately metered. If not it would be a nightmare to try to separate now. Water may have to be included in the rent you charge. In NSW if it is not separately metered you cannot split bills between tenants. You can order and pay for multiple bins. Insurance will be OK if the building is approved as will being able to rent out separately.
Hope this discussion doesn't end quickly. I'm keen to promote what is nowadays called "intentional living" which seems to be a nice PC term for hippie commune.!! Well, that's not my objective but the idea's the same. Scott, your deal was just one building housing 4 different families, right? Reminds me of the "long house" in Indonesia and Malaysia. Very practical i expect, except of course for the lack of privacy. How are your plans going? I'm interested to know what problems you're encountering, apart from those you've mentioned, because we will have similar ones.
Hi Greg, I will let you know how I get on. Yes essentially this is one property housing 4 families. The 4 accommodations are actually spread over 2 buildings and the block of land is quite large so surprisingly privacy is quite good. I will call council and a town planner early next week and see what they have to say.
yes, same issue for us - multiple dwellings on one block. As one member reminded me, caravan parks and high rises both require special zoning and council regulations - they are the same as you and i will more than 1 house on a single block. We're hoping to use a body corporate same as high rises. If you have 2 buildings on 1 lot, they must have been there from years ago, therefore may have approvals already. We're looking at 15 houses on 40 acres!!! A bit more difficult. I'll keep an eye on your progress and we can share experiences.
