Granny flats in Brisbane

[Ed Barton]

There's been a lot of threads on granny flats but i couldn't find any on Brisbane. the bcc site hasn't been any help either.

my sister is buying a ppor in brisbane city council area and i'm thinking of giving her some cash to add a granny flat.

what are the restrictions/allowables on a gf in the BCC area?

thanks in anticipation

 

[Andrew_A]

There's been a lot of threads on granny flats but i couldn't find any on Brisbane. the bcc site hasn't been any help either.

my sister is buying a ppor in brisbane city council area and i'm thinking of giving her some cash to add a granny flat.

what are the restrictions/allowables on a gf in the BCC area?

thanks in anticipation

Ed,

Start with the 'House Code' section of the City Plan

BCC page with City Plan

House Code direct link (pdf)

Secondary dwelling, associated dwelling, the terminology is different with various councils, worthwhile getting a few town planning opinions on the specifics of your block but the plan will outline general guidelines.

 

[Ed Barton]

Ed,

Start with the 'House Code' section of the City Plan

BCC page with City Plan

House Code direct link (pdf)

Secondary dwelling, associated dwelling, the terminology is different with various councils, worthwhile getting a few town planning opinions on the specifics of your block but the plan will outline general guidelines.

thanks AA. so my reading is up to 70 m2 gf ok generally.

does anyone have experience of getting approval for a secondary dwelling under the BCC?

 

[dreamgirl]

I have a property in Beenleigh which I thought of adding a granny flat on. I phoned Logan City Council and my property manager who both told me that you can't legally rent out a second dwelling separately.

 

[bene313]

I have a property in Beenleigh which I thought of adding a granny flat on. I phoned Logan City Council and my property manager who both told me that you can't legally rent out a second dwelling separately.

Can anyone confirm this?

 

[marg4000]

Check with the relevant council.

Granny flats are treated very differently in Qld to NSW. Basically they can only be used for family members - legally, that is.
Marg

 

[Ed Barton]

Can anyone confirm this?

for brisbane

Can you rent out a Secondary Dwelling (granny flat) under a house?

No. Acceptable Solution A8 in the House Code states that a House must be used by a single household group. Renting out a Secondary Dwelling or "granny flat" would be contrary to the Acceptable Solution as the house is used by one group and the Secondary Dwelling by an autonomous group.

Non-compliance with the acceptable solutions triggers a notifiable code application.

http://web.brisbane.qld.gov.au/plan...ntial-projects/house-new/houses-faq/index.htm

and in the link Andrew provided

A8 The main dwelling, together with any
secondary dwelling, is used by a household
group comprising
• 1 person maintaining a household, or
• 2 or more persons related by blood,
marriage or adoption, or
• not more than 5 persons, not necessarily
related by blood, marriage or adoption,
or
• not more than 5 persons under the age
of 18 and not necessarily related by
blood, marriage or adoption, together
with 1 or 2 adult persons who have care
and control of them, or
• not more than 6 persons with disabilities
permanently occupying a dwelling
where care or assistance is provided by
other persons, provided that no more
than 2 of these other persons reside at
the dwelling

 

[Andrew_A]

It's not so much what council think as what your insurer is going to say if there is an issue, covering your risk is critical.

That FAQ link is a bit confusing Ed, looks to me like they are talking specifically about an up/down dual living scenario, of which a majority of the housing in Brisbane isn't legal height for bedrooms downstairs. In this case best to avoid though plenty of people do rent them out individually.

If you want an area with plenty of conflicting opinion and advice, even from council and insurers this is a good one!

BCC is as the house code states, doesn't have to be family members, this hasn't always been the case and is a relatively recent change to the rules and isn't widely known I think.

 

[Ed Barton]

That FAQ link is a bit confusing Ed, looks to me like they are talking specifically about an up/down dual living scenario, of which a majority of the housing in Brisbane isn't legal height for bedrooms downstairs. In this case best to avoid though plenty of people do rent them out individually.

perhaps the FAQ page is old and hasn't been updated?

i have a couple with 'utility' rooms downstairs that are for all purposes gf's for anyone shorter than 6'6. rent them out as one to students who kind of sub rent or whatever.

If you want an area with plenty of conflicting opinion and advice, even from council and insurers this is a good one!

if the info available on the web is anything to go by you are being kind.

BCC is as the house code states, doesn't have to be family members, this hasn't always been the case and is a relatively recent change to the rules and isn't widely known I think.

but can you rent out two separately two dwellings?

my original op was about building GFs though. i'm thinking of getting my sister a big block and building a GF on it so she can get some rent.

 

[Andrew_A]

Yes.

There's even a market segment that targets the dual income specifically with new houses, building a house with an attached granny flat. Sailesh Channan is one person who knows quite a bit about that and he posts on Somersoft.

 

[cheezal]

Build the extension , with its own bathroom and own kitchen and other rooms. It needs its own external entrance too. It has to have a internal door to the rest of the house. But just lock the door from both sides. People staying in the 2 parts could be un-related parties. To avoid breaking BCC laws the number of people living on the total site needs to be always 5 or less.
You could become liable for land tax as the property is now income producing.

Insurance will now increase, (for me it doubled!) because you now have 2 separate un-related parties living on one site. If you do not tell the insurance company they could easily refuse to pay any claims , since insurance company claims it is higher risk... Also need the proper insurance to keep the bank happy ... My experience in this area ... is it is a real can of worms ...

 

[RobynD]

Hi everyone, sorry to piggyback on the op's thread.

We are new to Brisbane and have no idea about the council's current rules on dual living situations.

Our plan at the moment is to purchase a property which either has two self contained floors, or a separate granny flat (there don't appear to be too many of those).

We plan to live in half of the property and rent the other half out. From what I have read we wouldn't be able to rent it out on a lease under the current BCC rules? What are the rules about renting out individual rooms -we were thinking about renting out each room separately to students with all utilities included.

Does anyone have an idea about whether that would be legal?

If we did it, do we have to provide them with external space dedicated for their use only? Or can all of the outside be common area?

We are wanting to do it this way as we bought our house in Adelaide a few years ago and we don't want to sell that one. Whilst we can definitely service the FULL amount of both the mortgage on the property in Adelaide and a new mortgage in Brisbane (without taking into account the rent we receive from the Adelaide property), we would like to be able to have a bit of rental income to make sure we can maintain the same standard of lifestyle we have now, provide a financial buffer and to enable us to save again.

 

[INVSTOR]

perhaps the FAQ page is old and hasn't been updated?

i have a couple with 'utility' rooms downstairs that are for all purposes gf's for anyone shorter than 6'6. rent them out as one to students who kind of sub rent or whatever.



if the info available on the web is anything to go by you are being kind.



but can you rent out two separately two dwellings?

my original op was about building GFs though. i'm thinking of getting my sister a big block and building a GF on it so she can get some rent.

Did you end up doing the Granny Flat Ed Barton?

 

[Ed Barton]

Did you end up doing the Granny Flat Ed Barton?

my sis was a bit weary of a marginal gf. i ended up giving her a few k to buy and she worked it out for herself.

 

[INVSTOR]

OK, thanks!