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Is it permitted to live in a shed/cabin in your garden?
41 replies
Harridan1981 · 02/07/2022 18:23
As above really, is it legal to live in a shed/cabin in your parents' garden?
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Wellthatsjustswell · 02/07/2022 18:26
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FeebasAquarium · 02/07/2022 18:27
Not in mine, there was a covenant on the property saying it’s not allowed.
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WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 18:28
Almost certainly not. The council is likely to regard it as a separate dwelling and so requiring planning permission.
Hallyup89 · 02/07/2022 19:31
WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 18:28
Almost certainly not. The council is likely to regard it as a separate dwelling and so requiring planning permission.
Which doesn't mean that it's almost certainly not, just that you need to consult the planning department first.
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EmmaH2022 · 02/07/2022 19:34
Does this place already exist?
Surely anyone is allowed to sleep or live in an outside room if they want to? the street address is the same.
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ItsJustASimpleLine · 02/07/2022 19:56
It would need planning permission as a separate dwelling or annex
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WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:18
For the sake of pedantry clarity, almost certainly not as things stand, because the council would almost certainly not regard it as permitted development and so planning permission would be needed. Hence the need to speak to the planning department.
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EmmaH2022 · 02/07/2022 20:21
WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:18
For the sake of pedantry clarity, almost certainly not as things stand, because the council would almost certainly not regard it as permitted development and so planning permission would be needed. Hence the need to speak to the planning department.
But if I had a garden shed or garden office, either way, it's mine, so I should be able to sleep in it, or allow anyone registered at the same address, to sleep in it.
if the law really stops me doing that, it's mad.
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LoudingVoice · 02/07/2022 20:21
Yes you absolutely can and my friend does, they applied for planning permission and it was granted and this is now her permanent living arrangement.
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LoudingVoice · 02/07/2022 20:22
WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:18
For the sake of pedantry clarity, almost certainly not as things stand, because the council would almost certainly not regard it as permitted development and so planning permission would be needed. Hence the need to speak to the planning department.
Which isn’t absolutely not, it’s ‘yes if you apply for and are granted planning permission’.
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TheVolturi · 02/07/2022 20:22
You'd just state the address as your parents house. No one needs to know where you actually sleep surely?
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EmmaH2022 · 02/07/2022 20:25
TheVolturi · 02/07/2022 20:22
You'd just state the address as your parents house. No one needs to know where you actually sleep surely?
This is the bit that puzzles me.
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WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:30
Yes, planning permission (if the council takes the view that it’s needed) is the key here. The risk would be in using the shed as living accommodation without first obtaining planning permission, as the council might take the view that that is unauthorised development/change of use and take enforcement action. There was a long-running thread about this, years ago.
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Holymole · 02/07/2022 20:32
Isn't it all based on whether it is self sufficient with kitchen facilities etc? I'm sure I've read before on here that it's ok to sleep in it, if the main facilities are in the main house...but if it's fully self sufficient with kitchen/bathroom you need planning permission. I may be totally wrong.
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EmmaH2022 · 02/07/2022 20:34
WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:30
Yes, planning permission (if the council takes the view that it’s needed) is the key here. The risk would be in using the shed as living accommodation without first obtaining planning permission, as the council might take the view that that is unauthorised development/change of use and take enforcement action. There was a long-running thread about this, years ago.
I hate that my taxes pay for this sh*t.
OP if the structure exists and doesn't need work doing, I'd just try it, unless neighbours are likely to report it.
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WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:37
The Planning Portal says that outbuildings that are “incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling house” are (within certain limits) permitted development, so it’s the ceasing to be “incidental” and becoming in effect part of the dwelling house that’s the potential issue, taking the shed outside the scope of permitted development and into the scope of planning permission.
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nancy75 · 02/07/2022 20:39
Holymole · 02/07/2022 20:32
Isn't it all based on whether it is self sufficient with kitchen facilities etc? I'm sure I've read before on here that it's ok to sleep in it, if the main facilities are in the main house...but if it's fully self sufficient with kitchen/bathroom you need planning permission. I may be totally wrong.
I think if it has its own kitchen you have to pay council tax on it as a separate dwelling
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GettingItOutThere · 02/07/2022 20:56
yes but i know someone who has done this well. It is well hidden, post goes to the parents house so that property dosent exist as such. They are on the electrol register at the parents house etc - but live in the annex
can be done,.....carefully!
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Wrongkindofovercoat · 02/07/2022 20:58
It sounds like a better idea than Boris's hand me down mortgage idea !
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MumstedInadequate · 02/07/2022 21:07
Surely part of this is, quite correctly, building regs? There are all sorts of regs to keep places fire safe, reasonably insulated etc. By living in a shed in the garden you're inadvertently bypassing all these and therefore at much higher risk
I imagine in reality this matters far more if you're trying to rent your shed out illegally / live in your shed for free and rent your house out and all the associated likely piss taking with us I tenants loo / storage / heat, vs choosing to sleep in your shed 4 days a week just for fun.
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BlueMongoose · 02/07/2022 21:25
EmmaH2022 · 02/07/2022 20:34
I hate that my taxes pay for this sh*t.
OP if the structure exists and doesn't need work doing, I'd just try it, unless neighbours are likely to report it.
WrappedLikeCandyInABlueBlueNeonGlow · 02/07/2022 20:30
Yes, planning permission (if the council takes the view that it’s needed) is the key here. The risk would be in using the shed as living accommodation without first obtaining planning permission, as the council might take the view that that is unauthorised development/change of use and take enforcement action. There was a long-running thread about this, years ago.
There is a reason for regulations like this. Safety, it being healthy to live in, it not causing trouble with neighbours, lots of things. Otherwise, you have planning creep- one minute it's a shed, the next it's been bricked and insualted, then it's been addded to the house's sewerage and water supply, then it gets added to the house electrics and not safely, then it has a fire and someone ends up a cinder, or it becomes a granny flat, quite possibly too close to the boundary and overlooking the neighbours' garden, then it gets a lodger in it......
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BlueMongoose · 02/07/2022 21:25
GettingItOutThere · 02/07/2022 20:56
yes but i know someone who has done this well. It is well hidden, post goes to the parents house so that property dosent exist as such. They are on the electrol register at the parents house etc - but live in the annex
can be done,.....carefully!
In other words, it's illegal.
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Suzi888 · 02/07/2022 21:27
Harridan1981 · 02/07/2022 18:23
As above really, is it legal to live in a shed/cabin in your parents' garden?
Does it have electricity, running water?
Can you really live in it or are you just using it as a second living room area?
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Harridan1981 · 02/07/2022 21:45
It's not us, out neighbours' middle aged son moved into an existing cabin in their garden last year, his girlfriend has since moved in and soon to be a baby. I don't think it has water etc. Originally only temporarily due to a relationship break up.
It has never bothered us overly, even though they play quite loud music and due to the position it sounds like it is on our patio. However it sounds like someone else is bothered and is threatening to report them to planning.
It got me thinking because despite the mild irritation it hadn't occured to me that they may not technically be allowed there.
Am just crossing my fingers that the pending child may incentivise them to move out 😂
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LIZS · 02/07/2022 21:59
No it does not sound suitable as a habitable room, especially for a child. Some are given permission for ancillary use to the main dwelling, on an occasional basis, but fewer are given for standalone or regular use. If it has running water, bathroom, kitchen it would need pp. Size, height and location relative to neighbouring land can also mean pp is required.
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