I'm looking at buying a property in Auckland in which the current owner has converted the attached internal access garage to a bedroom. The laundry that was in the garage has also been modified so that there is no longer a laundry tub and instead there is a bath with overhead shower and a small sink.
Other threads I have read on here suggest that although the garage conversion is not a change of use, it is an alteration, and so should have required council consent (no council consent was gained). That being said, there are also posters on here who say that this sort of alteration does not require council consent, because the works fall under Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 (i.e. adding insulation, adding a ground moisture barrier, installing carpet, installing gib board etc in order to make the garage habitable as a bedroom).
Even if no council consent is required, does the fact that the property is a cross-lease throw a spanner in the works? Does alteration from garage to bedroom require the other leaseholder's (neighbour's) written consent? If the neighbour looked at the house from the outside, they would be able to see that something has happened to the garage, because the garage door has been replaced with a floor to ceiling window with sliding door.
- Was council consent required for this alteration?
- Was the neighbour's consent required for this alteration?
- If the neighbour's consent was required but not gained, what sort of trouble can this cause?
Other threads I have read on here suggest that although the garage conversion is not a change of use, it is an alteration, and so should have required council consent (no council consent was gained). That being said, there are also posters on here who say that this sort of alteration does not require council consent, because the works fall under Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 (i.e. adding insulation, adding a ground moisture barrier, installing carpet, installing gib board etc in order to make the garage habitable as a bedroom).
Even if no council consent is required, does the fact that the property is a cross-lease throw a spanner in the works? Does alteration from garage to bedroom require the other leaseholder's (neighbour's) written consent? If the neighbour looked at the house from the outside, they would be able to see that something has happened to the garage, because the garage door has been replaced with a floor to ceiling window with sliding door.
- Was council consent required for this alteration?
- Was the neighbour's consent required for this alteration?
- If the neighbour's consent was required but not gained, what sort of trouble can this cause?
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