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Hi Colin,
The first important note about the area you're looking at is that Blacktown City Council charge what's called 'Section 94 Contribution Fees', which, for a 2 bedroom granny flat is around $5,000, whereas Penrith City Council charge zero if the 'soct of works' is under $100,000.
The second thing to note is that granny flats can be approved under new (2009) State-Wide Legislation called the 'Affordable Rental Housing SEPP'. This legislation overrides qall NSW Council's controls and allows you to build without council approval- you just need a Private Certifier to approve the development. This is generally cheaper and much faster (10 day approval). So the rules are state-wide and quite prescriptive; that is, you must meet ALL of the setback, height, landscaping and other general controls to qualify. The lot itself cannot be flood-prone, heritage listed etc.
As far as which property to look out for, that is 'granny flat friendly', I'd be careful about purchasing properties with the following issues:
1. Sloping to the rear and having no Drainage Easement nor adequate grassed areas for a dispersion (or rubble) pit. This is for roof-water drainage and can be an issue for some lots.
2. Excessively steep sites. This can add significant cost to the construction work.
3. Significant trees on the property and on the adjoining property's side boundaries. Tree removal ca only be granted by the Local Council, so it will mean risking refusal and there's the costs to chop the tree down and tipping fees etc. Council's can be 'tricky' to deal with so there's definitely some risk there when trees have to be removed. A new granny flat must be minimum 3 mtrs from tree-trunks, even on adjoining properties, so watch for that.
4. watch out for properties that are under 12 metres wide. This is because the SEPP doesn't allow new, detached granny flats on lots less than 12 metres wide. Again, you'd then be forced to go to Councuil for the approval, where there's no guarantee of approval + the approval costs are higher.
5. Properties with the Sewer Mains laying across the middle of the rear yard. If so, 'Sewer Encasement' will be needed and this isn't cheap- $10,000 isn't an unusual figure to encase the sewer mains'.
Granny flat-friendly properties are properties that have good drainage to the street, lots of distance between the main dwelling and the granny flat (5 to 6m minimum is good) and no significant trees on or around the development area. Corner blocks can be excellent for granny flat developments simply because you can provide separate entrances, parking and physical separation between tenants.
i hope this gives you a good idea on what to look for. my personal rant is this – Section 94 Contribution fees should be totally abolished!
Brazen.
Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
Hi Grantos,
Strata Title-ing (as you call it) involves sub-dividing the property into separate lots and creating 'common property', which is areas like the driveway etc. Your Council may or may not allow this on your lot, depending on the zoning and the dimensions of your block itself- the width usually being the critical dimension.
The costs associated with this type of property investment are quite substantial, with associated levies, development and legal fees.
Comparatively, converting part of the main dwelling (or even extending it) into a granny flat (termed a 'secondary dwelling'), is relatively cheap. This is because theres no subdivision and minimal legal fees. In reality, the only costs are the Council (or Private certifier's) approval fees, the physical costs of providing a Fire-rated-Wall and of course the renovation work needed within the building itself.
Leasing rooms individually means creating a 'Boarding House'. This can also be done under the SEPP in many cases. There are some prescriptive requirements under the SEPP which must also be met. The Building Code of Australia also requires that certain fire-safety and access/egress measures are implemented into the boarding house.
The legal and insurance costs are much more when subdividing because you are splitting the property into individual lots with the associated surveying (linen plans etc) fees, conveyance fees, section 94 contributions and other Council fees. So, the paperwork is quite expensive when subdiving as compared to just creating a secondary dwelling. I'd expect fees upwards of $10,000 for subdividing a residential block into, say, a battle-axe arrangement with a common driveway.
A secondary dwelling (granny flat) is NOT a legal subdivision and it actually locks the property out of subdivision whilst the granny flat is there. To annul this, you'd have to legally decommission the granny flat and then subdivide.
On the question of fire-rated walls, the cost will depend on the roof-form (usually), with simple gable-end roofs being easier to retrofit with fire-proof walls, compared to a hip-roof for example. A skillion (or flat-roof) extension may also be a much cheaper way to provide an attached granny flat as well. There's a description and comparative analysis of 'attached granny flats here: http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au/news/attached-vs-detached-granny-flats/
I hope this helps.
Brazen
Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
jer29e wrote:HiI am thinking of adding a granny flat on a subdivided land. 1st timer, would really appreciate some advice. what procedure do I need to follow and are they easy to rent out? Thanks for your help.
Hi Jer29e,
The subdivided land must, itself, qualify for granny flat approval before you can consider the process of design and approval.
If you’re in NSW, there’s the State legislation which lists the minimum size (450 sq m) and width at the building line (12m) plus other requirements regarding zoning and flooding/heritage etc.If that’s all good, the next step in the process is to check the more specific development standards relating to minimum landscaping, floor space ratios, heights etc contained here:
http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/epi+364+2009+cd+0+NLook at the bottom of the document which is ‘Schedule 1- Development Standards for Secondary Dwellings’.
I hope this helps.Serge.
Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
Chanelle wrote:Hi everyone I’m new to property investing & propertyinvestment.com, so please be patient.
I’m looking to buy vacant land in the western suburbs of Sydney & put a granny flat on it & rent it out until I may develop or sell at a later stage.
Is this a wise idea or is there anything else you would suggest? Also would anyone please be able to give me some insight into what suburbs
they think I should be looking at & why. I have been looking around Camden & Penrith areas.Thank you & sorry for being vague!
Chanelle
Hi Chanelle,
You CANNOT build a granny flat on a vacant block. Granny flast must accompany a primary dwelling- it’s why they call them ‘secondary dwellings’.
Serge.
Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
I have a blog specifically dedicated to granny flats in NSW. Not to brag, but I’m probably the leading authority on granny flat approvals, permits and I run what is effectively a co-op for investors, builders and other designers to talk about granny flats and the legislation, which is dynamically changing. The NSW Government makes changes via the ‘Affordable Housing SEPP’ without notice so I check the legislation daily for any changes.
There’s heaps on news and tips for builders and developers; tips on setbacks/heights etc and how to minimise your costs when designing and approving your new granny flat.
I’m thinking of doing some articles on garage-to-granny flat conversions (which ARE NOT simple) because I get a lot of enquirers about this. Most structures don’t qualify due to a lack of fire-separation and setbacks but there are other important requisites relating to energy-efficiency and BCA Compliance’s. A mouthful to say the least.
Check it out here:
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au/news/Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
James Wood wrote:Hi guys. I just purchased a property with sewerage running from front to back fence in the back yard and I purchased it with the view of building a granny flat. It is in the black town council region. I am 1 week from exchanging and wanted to know if this could potentially stop me from building a granny flat there or if worst comes to worst could I encase the pipe. Does anyone have any advice on what info I should find out and where to minimize problems in the future. ThanksHi James,
You can encase the Sewer Mains' Pipe if you're forced to, but thats only if it's lying right under where you want to build. There are alternative ways to avoid encasement and it all depends on the distance you are (laterally) from it and the depth of the Sewer Mains' itself. Here's a post that explains the formula used by Sydney Water to decide how much it's going to cost you to mitigate the asset:
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au/news/granny-flat-sewer-help/Serge.
Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
RHPlanning wrote:Costs start from around $70,000 and yes it needs approval and you will technically only be able to use it for family members associated with the main dwelling – ie your granny.I agree it needs approval but does not have to be exclusively for family use in most states.
Im not sure about WA- does WA not allow Granny Flats to be rented out?Brazen | Granny Flat Approvals Sydney
http://www.grannyflatapprovals.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeGranny Flat Approvals Guru
