Rental building regulations

[mikivuk]

Hi all

I am new to this forum but I have been visiting it for tips and ideas.

A few months ago wife and I we bought a house in Wellington. It has 3 bedroom upstairs and potentially a 2 bedroom flat downstairs. So my goal is to have a home and income.

I am going to to mostly myself as I want to keep the costs down.

I never owned a house with a flat under the house so I am not familiar with the rules and regulations regarding splitting the house into two flats.
Also, i searched the net for hours to find regulations and I only found out things that I already knew.


What I didn't find:

Does a flat under the house need to have a fire resistant gib on the ceiling?
Does a flat needs to be insulated for heat and sound?
How many exits does it need for health and safety in case of a fire?
Parking spaces for a shared property?

Anything else that I should know before I start?


Look forward to hearing from you

Micky

[drelly]

Does a flat under the house need to have a fire resistant gib on the ceiling?

It will need some yes.

Does a flat needs to be insulated for heat and sound?

I would certainly do this as it will make a huge difference to the quality of tenancies that you have and how much of an imposition it is on your living space too.

How many exits does it need for health and safety in case of a fire?

Not sure on this but I do know that tenants do consider things like that as it's been an issue for me before.

Parking spaces for a shared property?

The more the merrier.

Anything else that I should know before I start?

Go to your council before doing anything. You may find that although you think it's perfect for a flat, the council doesn't. Often there are issues with ceiling height and the type of flooring with respect to water-proofing.

[mikivuk]

Thats for a reply Drelly

I was planning to insulate the ceiling if I had to replace the ceiling Gib with the fire resistant one, atleast I will kill two birds with one stone

But for the alternative exit I still need to check with the council.

Cheers
Micky

[Davo36]

Mikivuk, mate, there are many, many things you will need to comply with to do this.

Years ago, this would have been easy. Now it's very very difficult.

You may need some or all of these things if you choose to do this legally (i.e. with council consent):

• Plans from an architect.
• Fire report from a fire engineer.
• Noise report from an acoustic engineer.
• Ventilation report from a mechanical engineer and possibly a fresh air system installed.
• Approved parking and turning bays - suitable for both tenancies.
• Separate water and power meters, with new connections there are development contributions.
• Development contributions (around $20k depending on where you are) payable to the council.

So this is now a very costly thing to do. It may not be worth it.

The other thing you can do, is just do it without council consent, like many people do. But of course there are risks in going this way...

[DaveW]

My understanding is you only need all those compliances if you are creating a Home and Income. This will certainly add extra value to your property.

Its unclear from the original post whether the downstairs is a basement to be converted, or already a habital space with living room, bedroom, bathroom, etc. if the later, and you are just getting flatmates to live downstairs then no problem so long as they are happy to do without an oven and you are happy to share power bill etc. Check with council.

[mikivuk]

Thanx Davo and Dave for your replies

Downstairs is already a livable place with 2 bedrooms, bathroom and a big rumpus which I will turn into a open plan living room with kitchen and dining, and also they will have about 80m2 of separate yard space.

Also, if I don't go with the council consent do I still have to declare that as a income? and can I claim some tax back for maintenance etc..

Dave, what do you mean when you said 'without an oven'? If there is an oven then I have to get the fire resistant Gib etc...

~$20,000 for all those compliances is very steep, I thought up to $5000 will be sufficient. This means that they charge more for crating a flat than building a new house!

I will also ring council and see what they have to say about all that.

[DaveW]

In regards to an oven, I meant you can't have your standard stove or wall mounted 3000W oven downstairs without council compliance fire proofing and other safety measures.

However, there are no issues to just using cooking appliances which just plug into your standard 10amp socket, such as microwave, toaster, grill/convection oven, hot plates, etc.

Of course you are meant to declare all income, with expenses being deductible.. talk to your accountant.

You might also want to include a washer/dryer in the bathroom complete with extractor fans.

[Wayne]

Also, if I don't go with the council consent do I still have to declare that as a income? and can I claim some tax back for maintenance etc..

Income and Tax have no relationship with council consent.

[Keys]

If it's not consented and a fire results in a death you may be up for manslaughter.

[Aston]

Don't even think about doing it without obtaining consent.

If it's not consented and you have a fire, your Insurance Company will do a runner.

Irrespective of Council consent you MUST declare the income.

[mikivuk]

Hi

Do I need to fireproof entire ceiling downstairs or just the living area where the kitchen is?

I bought a nice second hand rimu kitchen with all appliances for a good price which will add a nice value to my property.