Unregistered granny flat

Hi all I am new to the forum but have been a dedicated reader for four years now while researching on behalf of my time poor family.
I am hoping someone can offer advice on a property they bought last year which is two story with lower level converted to one bedroom flat. It was a deceased estate and the flat was thought to be registered.
It is in Sutherland shire with two street frontage steep block next to a reserve and in bushfire prone zone.
Both top and bottom sections are tenanted. A neighbour complained re dog noise from lower flat and it resulted in discovery that flat was not approved.
Is anyone familiar or experienced in achieving DA approval in these circumstances or can suggest course of action. Thanks.

 

There is a forum here for GFs and in there is a thread about a non approved GF. Some answers are in there.

 

Thanks for your reply Anthony. I did find this after already posting in the wrong subforum but admin moved the thread so hopefully I will get some assistance. Have you any experience with Sutherland Shire? One option that has been suggested is to remove the stove and relet the downstairs flat under a house share arrangement. Council have an old DA which was not approved from 1989 showing the kitchen as a bar. Ideally we would like to get it approved but it may be tricky.

 

Who thought that and did not check with council? If your conveyancer / solicitor then you may have an action against them. If you, then........

Who discovered this, you?

Talk to Serge (or his son) at Granny Flats Sydney | Expert Builders, Approvals & Designs

At a guess I'd say it would be unlikely or expensive. Upstairs / downstairs needs to be fire rated between them which is expensive to do after the fact.

Is the hot water & electricity separated? Noise insulation? (already can hear a dog in the other area). You may have to rent it out as one tenancy.

 

I had it on a short list. Unfortunately I found it. The property had been passed in at auction and my family jumped on it too quickly. All ads in writing were carefully worded when reread. Agent provided rental appraisal for both dwelling prior to finance approval. We went back to agent when Council dropped a card in letterbox re use of property as duel occupancy.

They suggested it was conveyencers fault. Conveyencers claimed that due to deceased estate their would not have been time to investigate during cooling off period.
Seperate electricity meters but one water metre. Concrete slab construction good noise seperation . Noise complaint was from a neighbouring property. Tenant has managed to sort noise issue out but the Council discovered flat not approved as a result of complaint. Main issues seem to be re bushfire prone zone.
Thanks for replying.

 

I had already found that link before posting here for Serge and Son. My son-in-law did call but told me the person he spoke to indicated because it was an attached flat not seperate it was technically not granny flat and out of their area of expertise. Maybe just "too hard".

 

No time to do what - check with the council? Seems odd to me.

That sucks about your situation, and I'm not exactly sure what to do - but since the council are on it now, isn't it a decent starting point to ask what the council would need to approve it?

Overall for other punters out there, I think a good rule of thumb is to always assume something like this is unapproved, unless you've seen some official documentation that expressly says otherwise.

 

Yep it sucks. Both agent and conveyencers would like to pass the buck. Agent provided written rental appraisals for both sections of property. Flat had been rented out for many years prior to death of previous owner. We have had a council inspection and are awaiting an inspection re fire etc

 

This is BS! At the very least it’s a 5 minute phone call to Council.

 

Thanks I thought it was pretty suss. Conveyencers claimed it would have taken up to 30 days and cooling off period was 5 days

 

I imagine one would have to have very deep pockets to consider sueing a conveyencer (not sure if she's a solicitor too)

 

Cooling off periods can be extended (by mutual agreement). The industry can do without “professionals” like this who do a less than half assed job! I wonder if @Terry_w has any thoughts?

 

Current situation after council inspection is they have said the next step is to require eviction of the tenant in the flat and removal of the kitchen. But they have also said that if they receive a DA before this happens they do
not pursue this ....up in the air next waiting fire inspection visit

 

Google Title Insurance....

 

Thanks I have forwarded that link to my daugter

 

Spot on, if I had a dollar for every “dual occupancy” place on RE.com that clearly are not compliant. I would say majority of the time the agents are well aware of this and are very careful in their wording, along with the old catch all “STCA”

 

tThe
"unique dual level accommodation layout"
" seperate duel accommodation"
"suitable for family to live in, teenage accommodation, or easy care investment" these are some of the phrases used in the ad.

The conveyancer failed to check with council. Only checked with vendors solicitor who sent email saying " to the best of our knowledge flat is registered but cannot confirm due to deceased estate" Vendor was daughter of previous owner. Our conveyancer forwarded this vendors email to my daughter without any advice attached and did not check with council

 

Not really. Just make a claim and their insurer will pay out if straight forward

 

My guess is it will be a bit costly to prepare a DA and the chances of eventual approval are not guaranteed.

I did have one client who undertook submitting a DA knowing that chances were not good but it bought him time until the tenant's lease was up (in about 7 months from memory) If he did not do that council wanted him to evict the tenants within 30 days or face fines.

The owner then removed one of the kitchens and incorporated the attached Granny Flat into his house, with the potential to be able to rent rooms out or some other share arrangement.

I have had no experience with this type of situation with Sutherland Council however I think most steps would be the same and sometimes I see more variation between individual planners within each council than variations between councils themselves

See how much guidance council will be willing to give you however be aware that what a council compliance office will tell you may not be what the council planner will agree to.

 

Thanks @Terry_w Anthony. There is 9 months on the lease so we are considering the delaying strategy DA application.
The properties are completely seperated and rejoining rooms may also be an expensive option as there is a thick concrete slab between the two sections. Access to lower level is via external steps to a side facing seperate front entrance. Cutting through the slab would be a major event.
Terry I am forwarding your contact details to my daughter re whether worth making a claim on negligence re the purchase.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies.