How to get council approval for pre-exisitng granny flat?

I agree with watsonc, pretty sure that insurance company will not pay out the claim if they find out the granny flat is rented out separate.

Actually I was calling around all the major insurance company about situations like this, all of them give me the same answer: if the place does not have council approval and is rented out separately to different tenants, they will not insure it at all, as it is considered as high risk. of course you can still go ahead and insure it if you do not tell them the place is rented out to different tenants, but if anything happens and you want to claim, insurance company can decline your claim because you didn't tell them the truth from the start.

on the other hand, council normally do not like the unapproved granny flat, they have the right to force you to change the design of the existing granny flat when you seek approval from them. this means additional cost to make council happy.

Hi to All who read this thread, in NSW one should consult the NSW Governments affordable housing policy or secondary dwelling policy.These policies override the local council policy if your proposal meets the standards.In my opinion, it is a slap in the face for good planning policy and protection of the local amenity.

what has prompted me to join this forum are the comments made in the abovementioned links.

The issues for the professional to address for the so called garage conversions are Building Code related. eg protection from rising damp, termite management.

I have read other advice on how to get an illegal structure approved. Basically, if its an unauthorised structure, in the eyes of the law, it will remain unauthorised for the life of the building. The approval process is designed for those who adhere to the building regulations that is  either via complying development, or by the development consent and construction certificate process. The certifier has a duty of care to ensure proper construction of the structure during construction.

Local government has the ability to consider an application for a building certificate, however, if granted the BC has a life of 7 years. The issue of the certificate does not approve an illegal structure it mearly allows the structure to remain. Therefore the question is"in the event of a legal issue involving the illegal structure , could an insurance company deny a claim based on the fact that the client failed to disclose that the building was illegal".  remember one thing, the council can ask for anything it considers necessary to determine the application  of the BC and charge you a fee as if it were for a construction certificate.

If the council refuses the certificate  then it must issue a demolition order. Nice to play Russian Roulette with you major investment  ?????

watsonc the "approved" granny flat does not have to have a separate meter to be able to legally rent it separately..

Also with insurance when you take out the policy fully disclose the granny flat and you have no problem. Some companies won't insure them but find one that does.

I looked at a house that had an approved granny flat plus an unapproved one underneath. They got caught when someone at council saw the add advertising it for rent. The ceiling is low so easy to spot that it wasn't legal. They had to pull the kitchen out and advertised it ass storage.

I was going to buy another house with a lovely garage conversion. BUT it was approved as a garage and they never got the final occupancy certificate because they made it into a granny flat. Pity as it was very nice.

We just went through the process to divide a house. So much for 10 day approval. You'd think it would be easier as the house is already compliant but took a month. FRUSTRATING.

No council is legally permitted to retrospectively approve a building in NSW. They can issue Building Certificates which essentially are a document that state that they will not issue an order to remove the building for a period of no less than 7 years. That’s it.

And the building certificate process can get very messy, especially with granny flats as they are often renovated garages outbuildings etc. and don’t meet current Building Code of Australia requirements.

It can be done, but unless you know what you’re doing the process can be drawn out, expensive and potentially end in a situation where you have to remove the structure, because you’ve alerted the council to the fact that there is an unapproved structure in your backyard.