Is Planning Permission needed for garage conversion

O

oddjob

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Hi
Im looking into converting our flat roofed garage into a usuable room. Its on the side of our semi detached and is about 10ft wide x 14ft long. At the moment we dont have plans to add a pitched roof so would we need planning permission for basic conversion? Thanks
 
No planning required if it is under 25 m2 (about 270 sq. ft.)

Yours is well within that limit but you will need permission if you put a pitched roof on.
 
liteweight said:
I thought the limit had been upped to 40 sq.mts. No??
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Apologies - you are indeed correct - it is 40 m2. I was thinking of a detached garage which is still restricted to a 25 m2 limit. Not a problem in any event as the OP's garage is well down in size
 
Will he/she not need planning if they change the look of the garage from the front of the house like: building up the door and putting a window in. If they want to use it as a room they will need to close up the front garage door.
Have I got it wrong?
 
Megan said:
Will he/she not need planning if they change the look of the garage from the front of the house like: building up the door and putting a window in. If they want to use it as a room they will need to close up the front garage door.
Have I got it wrong?
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I see where you are coming from on this as the planning regs do state that you need permission to alter the external appearance of a house but this is an exemption from those regs. The garage door can be removed and replaced with a window without permission subject to the 40 m2 floor area limit.

Similarly if you built a porch to the front of a house it would change the appearance BUT the exemptions under part 2 of the regs allow for a porch up to 2 sq. metres in size to be built without permission.

Hope that explains it
 
Thanks Nutty Nut that sounds interesting. I might consider converting my garage now.
 
You would be better off contacting the local planning department. Not all garage conversions are exempt. See this [broken link removed] for more details on exempted development.

Previous threads [broken link removed].
Leo
 
Leo, while not all garage conversions are exempted development (floor area is the only difference) the Planning & Development Regulations are the same no matter what part of the country you are in. There is of course the usual criteria that the garage is attached to the house and the total floor area of ALL extensions of the original house is taken into account when determining the accumalitive area.

If the conversion of a garage is exempt in Cork it will also be exempt in Donegal. As I said the floor area limit - currently 40 sq. metres - is the only thing that can lead to it not being exempt.
 
I thought the 40 sqare metres rules referred to development to rear of the house though, and that alterations which affect the front elevation, other than the 2 square metre porch exemption you refer to, necessarily require planning permission even if under the area threshold?
 
nutty nut said:
Leo, while not all garage conversions are exempted development (floor area is the only difference) the Planning & Development Regulations are the same no matter what part of the country you are in.
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Agreed, that's why I said to contact the local planning department.
Leo
 
Dreamerb said:
I thought the 40 sqare metres rules referred to development to rear of the house though, and that alterations which affect the front elevation, other than the 2 square metre porch exemption you refer to, necessarily require planning permission even if under the area threshold?
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Im not sure what you mean
 
nutty nut said:
Im not sure what you mean
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I believe he meant...

Me said:
even when a development is under the 40sqm threshold, does it not need PP if it alters the appearance of the front/elevation (other than the patio exemption which can alter the elevation) of the property?
[e.g. does the 40sqm exemption not apply to the rear of the property only]
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Thats a bit clearer.

If you are building an extension to a house you can only build to the back without planning permission with the only exception to this being the 2 sq. metre porch referred to.

However if there is a garage already built (side or back) and it forms an integral part of the house then it can be converted to habitable accommodation without planning subject to the floor area limit

Like I said earlier planning regs dictate that you cannot alter the external appearance of your house without permission. But it goes on to say that there are 2 exemptions regarding the front of a house - a porch and a garage conversion
 
nutty nut said:
Leo, while not all garage conversions are exempted development (floor area is the only difference) the Planning & Development Regulations are the same no matter what part of the country you are in. There is of course the usual criteria that the garage is attached to the house and the total floor area of ALL extensions of the original house is taken into account when determining the accumalitive area.

If the conversion of a garage is exempt in Cork it will also be exempt in Donegal. As I said the floor area limit - currently 40 sq. metres - is the only thing that can lead to it not being exempt.
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Is it as simple as that? Other aspects of 'change of use' (which is always a planning matter) include health and safety aspects including nature of existing build, access, proximity to neighbours etc. For example single-storey structures need to have minimum load-bearing capacity and minimum depth of foundations before you can change roofs, install velux or build up. As Leo suggests, the OP needs to contact local council and ask if such a conversion is "permitted development" or if other authorisations are required. Just because someone else does it doesn't mean it is 'permitted development'.
 
Sorry Marie, but you should read the thread again - the OP was talking about converting a garge while retaining its flat roof - not building it. I did state that building regs still need to be complied with
 
The Dublin City Council pdf linked above on exempt developments states that not all garage conversions fall under the exemption. Therefore it would be wise to contact your local planning authority to clarify the situation. A simple phone call may save endless head aches when it comes to sell.
Leo
 
Thanks for all the replies....Does anyone have any idea how much this conversion would cost (ballpark figure) without the roof ie - replace garage door with window, dryline and plaster ceiling and walls, flooring, some electrics (electrics in place already), new entrance knock through from hall to new room.
 
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