One bedroom or two?

[timn1423]

I have a basement garden flat. It was originally a one bedroom but a previous owner built a single story flat roof rear extension. It was sold to me as a ‘one bedroom with garden room’, but in practice, previous owners and myself have used it as a second bedroom.


My question is, why can’t it be sold as a two bedroom and what might be needed to allow me to?


I have architectural plans for the extension dated February 1985 which have a planning approval stamp. It’s not very well insulated and I doubt it would meet current building regs without additional work but in practice, it’s a perfectly usable bedroom. It’s heated and has large double glazed windows.


My understanding is that if an extension was built pre-November 1985, then building regs approval wasn’t required. So in theory my extension should be grandfathered in and be a legal bedroom?


The property is share of freehold. When it was sold to me, I know that the seller had initially tried to list it as a two bedroom but the other freeholders insisted that it be listed as a one bedroom instead. Is this simply a matter of me needing to convince my fellow freeholders that I should be allowed to define the property as a two bedroom rather than a matter for building control?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[des8]

My understanding is that if planning permission was given for a "garden room" it may not be used as a bedroom without planning permission for change of use.
If granted it will almost certainly be conditional on the room being upgraded to meet current building regulations.

[timn1423]

My understanding is that if planning permission was given for a "garden room" it may not be used as a bedroom without planning permission for change of use.

Thanks. Is there such a thing as a 'change of use' for a room? I can't find any information on that. Only on change of use of a property as a whole.

[des8]

you would be applying for change of use of a "garden room", not a plain ordinary room in the house.
This was built presumably with planning permission or under permitted development rules.
Whilst garden rooms may be used as temporary accommodation (or even as bedrooms if no one knows) you cannot advertise them as bedrooms.

Have a word with your local authority planning department to see what their take is on this question.

If the room is up graded to bedroom will it impact on the council tax band?