Dual Occupancy Single Title

Anyone care to comment on the following. Looking at a single title property that has been turned into dual occupancy. Litterally they have closed off a doorway and are renting the property to two tenants. Rental returns are fine. However what legal implications am I exposing myself too purchasing a property in this condition? For example Im thinking about OH&S fire protection standards / practicalities of splitting utility bills etc. Its being sold by the same agency renting it however surely this cant be 'kocha'! from a tenancy legality point of view?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Approvals for dual occ will probably be "missing" in the contract. You could put an offer in, subject to a satisfactory council search.

If it's not an actual dual occ, you could just rent it out and let your tenant sublet the other rooms.
 
Looking at a single title property that has been turned into dual occupancy. Litterally they have closed off a doorway and are renting the property to two tenants.
OK - so you are not really discussing dual occupancy (in the strict sense of the word) but a dual tenancy. One house with 2 tenants.

Rental returns are fine.
They should be better than fine. They should be 7-8% :)

However what legal implications am I exposing myself too purchasing a property in this condition? For example Im thinking about .....fire protection standards /
As long as you have smoke detectors as per the legislation then you have fullfilled your obligations re fire safety.

practicalities of splitting utility bills etc.
You cannot charge tenants for utilities if they are not separately metered. Either get the electricity and HWS split with sep. meters and a flow meter installed for water meter readings to be done by your PM or just include an educated guess in the rents you charge.

Its being sold by the same agency renting it however surely this cant be 'kocha'! from a tenancy legality point of view?
The same agency being involved is irrelevant.

It would seem that the only risk is in not being compliant to council building code, and if this is a concern to you it may good idea to take out the oven, hotplates etc in the 2nd kitchen and just put in plug in electrical appliances.

There is nothing illegal about the number of tenancies you have in a property - student accommodation is case in point.

One of the only risks really is in the council asking you to remove the 2nd kitchen.

This topic has been discussed at length in many of the threads you can find by doing a search on "granny flats".
 
Back
Top