Town house split into 2 units – Where do I start
We have a town house in London Zone 2 area and we are thinking about splitting this into 2 flats (flat 1 – ground floor and first floor and flat 2 second floor and loft) to increase both rental income and valuation. The rear garden door is perfect for secondary entry.
It sounds like a valid option, however we have no idea what is the first, second and third steps to validate and implement this. Potentially there are several people we have to make sure are happy, such as lender’s valuation before and after split, council (planning and building control), solicitors, utility companies, architect, etc. Could some one give us a steer on this topic?
Many thanks.
Regards,
Fei
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Member Since February 2011 - Comments: 3453 - Articles: 286
12:58 PM, 8th March 2016, About 10 years ago
Hi Fei,
We also have a very useful blog for you:
I Am A Property Developer – Ask Me Anything!
See >> https://www.property118.com/i-am-a-property-developer-ask-me-anything/44690/
Member Since December 2015 - Comments: 42
2:07 PM, 8th March 2016, About 10 years ago
I would say your first point of contact is an architect for drawings, and then the local authority. The local authority will want to see what you are proposing to do with the existing structure and you cant do this without drawings.
Member Since August 2015 - Comments: 3
2:11 PM, 8th March 2016, About 10 years ago
Only done one split but if it helps, there is usually a long lead time for a new supply with utilities, 8 weeks in my area so contact them early. The regs will be hot on soundproofing and insulation as they are flats. When you are nearly finished, contact the council to register the new flats address i.e Flat A and B or 1 and 2, under street naming, I think that they contact the post office for you. Others here may have more info.
Member Since November 2015 - Comments: 584
9:12 PM, 8th March 2016, About 10 years ago
Both good advice so far. You can pay for an initial assessment by a planning advisor which is a good investment to do a site visit & advise on what is likely to be favourably viewed by planners. Get an architect experienced with planning to do your drawings for your planning application. You’ll need to put in a building regs application if you get planning approval. Be aware that you need someone in charge who understands the latest in building regs, such as sound proofing, fire proofing etc. Your new Windows will need a FENSA certificate. There is a lot to know. It isn’t too expensive to split the water supply, but it is quite a big expense to split your electricity supply. As mentioned there is street naming and numbering which you’ll need to do before you can get your services on. Council tax will need to add the address to their systems and you will need it all signing off by building regs to get your completion certificate so you can remortgage or sell in future. Finally you’ll need to create leasehold titles which will need to be registered with Land Registry.
Member Since May 2014 - Comments: 1
8:35 PM, 9th March 2016, About 10 years ago
For your interest I approached LB Hounslow about converting my 3 bed semi into 2 x flats, I paid £150 for pre-planning advice and 1 minute into the meeting they simply said no!
They could have told me on the phone, but clearly are short of money.
They stated that my house is a ‘small family home’ and as there are not enough in Brentford I couldn’t convert to flats. A bit rich from a council that have permitted 1,000s of flats in the past 10 years…call me cynical but all those flats are built by the big boys who presumably invest in local infrastructure so saving the Borogh money!!!