Unapproved granny flat

A cousin of mine is about to exchange on a house that has the downstairs granny flat rented out for the last 23 years.

It has a separate entrance, boarded-up old stairs down, kitchen and bathroom. However, he just realised this evening that there's no freestanding oven or hob, and come to the realisation that it's probably unapproved. The contract shows no separate residence, although ironically includes the current tenancy agreement. No separate electrical box. Unsure on fire insulation, but it's a concrete slab. It's also 125m2, so well above granny flat size and I guess that would negate any chance of approval.

The rest of the house would be his PPOR, and our mortgage budget is dependent on renting out the flat. However, despite having excellent views, we suspect rental value will be constrained if he can't offer a full cooker and dishwasher.

I've read that AirBnBs include just a tabletop hob as it doesn't classify as a kitchen, but I assume the unit is unapproved as it is, so what difference would adding a full cooker make? Would it make it illegal or uninsurable rather than just unapproved? I assume he would also need to install an additional circuit for the cooker current, and likely a separate box and submeter while they're at it.

Thanks!


Sam

 

Possibly also interconnected smoke alarms too.

 

OK, I see what it does. A flat without a hardwired cooker is technically not a granny flat, but rather a "storage area with bathroom", for compliance. A "proper" cooker probably must be hardwired for compliance, which would then make it a separate dwelling. Hence it doesn't matter that it's above the 60m^2, as it's not a granny flat.

 

If it's downstairs I believe the distance from floor to ceiling has to be a certain amount, if it's under a certain height it can't 'legally' be tenanted.

 

Location doesn't matter only the height.

 

Yep, they’re all standard height - they added the top floor later, so bottom would have been fully compliant.