Converting a house into two separately rentable dwellings

[JacM]

Hi all,

I am wondering about the strategy of converting a house to two separately rentable dwellings. Please note I am not referring to splitting into two titles, just creating two separately rentable dwellings.

I am hopeful there are a few good folks out there that have done this and are able to indicate what is involved? For instance, is it merely a matter of putting in a dividing wall and ensuring each has a kitchen, bathroom, living space and at least one bedroom, and a carspace each.... of course with the utilities separately metered. Or are there compliance considerations such as fireproofing, or private open spaces?

Thankyou in advance, all tips/criticism welcome!

JacM

 

[quoll]

It depends

Have seen a few of these done over the years. Some will split and follow regulations, others just do it and keep quiet about it.

I suppose it depends on what YOU are comfortable with.

You can bundle rent and utilities into one change so you don't have to install separate meters.

From a liability perspective you are leaving yourself wide open if you just do it and don't follow regulations.

There are people out there renting by the room, bonds are not lodged with tribunal and everything is done by the owner so no involvement from anyone else, no one knows, unless something goes wrong.

cheers
Graeme

 

[geoffw]

What quoll said. I've seen a number done- not always with approval.

That can lead to problems. Really, you want two letter boxes, and two sets of rubbish bins. But that's a dead giveaway that there's two residences. And then there's the neighbours. They are not always happy about all those cars parking out front. They may dob you in.

If you can do it by the book it's better of course. It's just not always possible- it will depend on your local council.

It can be a very good way of getting a good cash flow from a property.

 

[Aaron_C]

It's not too bad in an area that already has a high population density. You can't do it in a typical suburban area as people will tend to notice and be more trigger happy to call the council.

 

[travelbug]

It's not too bad in an area that already has a high population density. You can't do it in a typical suburban area as people will tend to notice and be more trigger happy to call the council.

I'm assuming you mean doing it illegally. If it's legal there are no problems.

We are splitting a place at the moment (legally). It has been a headache but coming to the end now. Depending on council how easy the process is. All you need is one idiot at council that doesn't know what he's doing and you get all kinds of hiccups and costs.

The firewall was more drama than I thought. Dividing a whole house would be major. Ours is L shaped and we are "just" cutting off the short side of the L.

I'm off to Bali tomorrow to get away from it.
Hopefully finished when I return.

 

[JacM]

I definitely mean I'd do things the legal way.

Interesting comment about the L-shape cutoff, presumably meaning less headache than otherwise. Travelbug I would love to hear more details about the process you've been through while it's fresh in your mind if possible....