Converting your garage into a room can boost your house price by £45,000 – and you don’t need planning permission
HOMEOWNERS could add up to £45,000 to the value of their home by converting the garage into an extra room - and in most cases you don't even need planning permission.
It comes as new research from Admiral Loans suggests that 45 per cent of Brits don't use their garage for parking their car but for storage instead.
Using average house price figures from Zoopla, Admiral Loans crunched the numbers and worked out that each square foot of living space is worth £350 on average.
Typically, the size of a small single garage in the UK is 128 square feet making the additional space worth £45,000.
A standard conversion costs between £4,995 and £7,500 depending on what work you have done, according to householdquotes.co.uk, which will of course eat into your profits.
If the garage is attached to your home you won't even need to pay for planning permission, which currently costs £206.
The work falls under "permitted development rules", which allows you to make certain changes to your home as long as it's within limits.
This is because you're not really altering the outside dimensions of the building.
But you will need to apply to the local authority if your garage is separate to your house, you live in a flat or maisonette or in a listed building.
It's worth checking before starting any work that there aren't any planning conditions attached to your property - you can do this by writing to the local authority.
If you plough on with building work that actually required permission, you may be ordered to take it down.
Things you can do without planning permission
HERE are a few other things you can do to your home without getting planning permission.
All of them are subject to a few restrictions and building regulations. You can find the full list on the .
- Add single storey extensions of up to 4m by 6m,
- Moving windows and doors, as long as you're not looking directly into neighbouring properties,
- Move interioir walls, as long as the total footprint of the house stays the same,
- Loft conversions of up to 50 cubin metres for detached and semi-detached properties, or 40 cubic metres for terrace houses,
- Single-storey conservatories of up to 4m by 6m,
- Outbuildings that double up as office space,
- A porch of up to 3m tall,
- Garden decking as long as it's now more than 30cm above ground,
- Swimming pool as long as it's no bigger than 50 per cent of the size of the garden.
Out of the 1,000 people surveyed, 13 per cent of converted garages have already been turned into children's playrooms, while 11 per cent have been changed into a gym.
Others include knocking through the wall to extend an existing room, make it a utility room and adding an extra bedroom.
Architect Ben Williams said: "Garage conversions are not always as straight forward as you might think.
"It’s important to check with the local authority that you can convert the space, if so, map out how to make use of the space and consult an expert."
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Last month, the Government overhauled rules in England that forced people to submit full planning permission for a single-storey extension, saving homeowners £206.
The new rules will hopefully help "second steppers" - those who are looking to move on from their first home - who are struggling to move up the ladder due to rising house prices, stamp duty and a lack of housing.
Did you know that you can turn your loft into another room without planning permission? Doing so could add another £62,000 to the value of your home.
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