starman001
2017-05-19 19:48:51
- #1
Hello everyone,
despite extensive research and due to many contradictory pieces of information, I am now quite confused and hope to find an answer here. The following situation:
I want to convert the existing rooms in the ground floor of the parental home into a separate apartment. Currently, our house is classified as a single-family house because there is only one residential unit (only 1 bathroom, one kitchen).
The rooms on the ground floor (which is built half into the slope, i.e. the rear rooms are 80% against the rear wall below the surface edge) are already more or less finished and would probably be considered "living rooms" by definition. These rooms are likely still seen as above ground by more than 50% because of the slope location. Heating is installed, parquet flooring, wooden ceiling, and the front (each a complete room side) is entirely windows.
What I intend to do now is convert one of the front window rooms into a kitchen (i.e. laying water pipes/drainage and installing a small fitted kitchen) and convert one of the rear rooms, which lies partially underground, into a bathroom. Another room also at the "back," just like the bathroom, is only a cellar room, doesn't even have heating, and will remain unchanged as a cellar room. The bathroom window, even if partially below the earth edge, is large enough according to the state building code, and the ceilings are also high enough.
The information I unfortunately do not yet have is the usage designation according to the development plan, but since all neighboring houses also have 2 residential units, I assume that ours will be no different; I will inquire about that next week. Purely based on the building class, I think ours is class 2 and definitely no more than 400 sqm of living space.
However, I am completely uncertain about two things.
First: Do I have to obtain a building permit? According to the state building code BW it says:
.....(2) The change of use is exempt from procedure if...
2. additional living space is created through the new use in residential buildings according to building class 1 to 3 in the inner area.
That sounds good, but whether there is even a change of use here is not quite clear to me. It is currently a residential house, and will remain so later. Nothing will be changed in the outer area, and no load-bearing wall elements will be affected. I am only installing a few water pipes and a shower, but I am creating a second residential unit. For the kitchen, I will make a small hole in the outer wall for the stove vent.
Later I can imagine renting it out, but at the moment I don't see that, and later only if I depend on it. For renting, in a second step I would have to do more renovations (electric meter, possibly soundproofing) and close off the staircase.
The question also arises whether I still have a separate apartment by definition here. It is "subordinate" to the main apartment which offers more living space, but my apartment has a separate entrance (the main entrance, which leads into a shared stairwell). This could later be closed off since the upper apartment also has a separate entrance (thus adequate escape routes). Or does this count as a "multi-generational house" after the conversion?
I hope you can give me some tips here. My budget is not very large, and it would be simply ridiculous to hire architects and draftsmen for this small renovation (it won’t be a big one). And I just want to know if I have to get a permit for this action because I will be creating a second residential unit. (House, property, all owned by us and already paid off). The property also includes a brick garage for 2 cars, as well as enough other parking spaces for bicycles, which is supposed to be important.
The second question, for which I could find no answer anywhere, is whether anything changes tax-wise by adding this, i.e., do I have to report to the tax office so that property tax is recalculated? I will not pay rent later, and my parents currently do not have to file a tax return (their income is below the limit, and without rental income, that will remain so).
I hope I have given the necessary information. I would be happy if someone can tell me whether I have to get a permit, because time is also pressing, I have to move out of my rental apartment.
Thank you and best regards
M.
despite extensive research and due to many contradictory pieces of information, I am now quite confused and hope to find an answer here. The following situation:
I want to convert the existing rooms in the ground floor of the parental home into a separate apartment. Currently, our house is classified as a single-family house because there is only one residential unit (only 1 bathroom, one kitchen).
The rooms on the ground floor (which is built half into the slope, i.e. the rear rooms are 80% against the rear wall below the surface edge) are already more or less finished and would probably be considered "living rooms" by definition. These rooms are likely still seen as above ground by more than 50% because of the slope location. Heating is installed, parquet flooring, wooden ceiling, and the front (each a complete room side) is entirely windows.
What I intend to do now is convert one of the front window rooms into a kitchen (i.e. laying water pipes/drainage and installing a small fitted kitchen) and convert one of the rear rooms, which lies partially underground, into a bathroom. Another room also at the "back," just like the bathroom, is only a cellar room, doesn't even have heating, and will remain unchanged as a cellar room. The bathroom window, even if partially below the earth edge, is large enough according to the state building code, and the ceilings are also high enough.
The information I unfortunately do not yet have is the usage designation according to the development plan, but since all neighboring houses also have 2 residential units, I assume that ours will be no different; I will inquire about that next week. Purely based on the building class, I think ours is class 2 and definitely no more than 400 sqm of living space.
However, I am completely uncertain about two things.
First: Do I have to obtain a building permit? According to the state building code BW it says:
.....(2) The change of use is exempt from procedure if...
2. additional living space is created through the new use in residential buildings according to building class 1 to 3 in the inner area.
That sounds good, but whether there is even a change of use here is not quite clear to me. It is currently a residential house, and will remain so later. Nothing will be changed in the outer area, and no load-bearing wall elements will be affected. I am only installing a few water pipes and a shower, but I am creating a second residential unit. For the kitchen, I will make a small hole in the outer wall for the stove vent.
Later I can imagine renting it out, but at the moment I don't see that, and later only if I depend on it. For renting, in a second step I would have to do more renovations (electric meter, possibly soundproofing) and close off the staircase.
The question also arises whether I still have a separate apartment by definition here. It is "subordinate" to the main apartment which offers more living space, but my apartment has a separate entrance (the main entrance, which leads into a shared stairwell). This could later be closed off since the upper apartment also has a separate entrance (thus adequate escape routes). Or does this count as a "multi-generational house" after the conversion?
I hope you can give me some tips here. My budget is not very large, and it would be simply ridiculous to hire architects and draftsmen for this small renovation (it won’t be a big one). And I just want to know if I have to get a permit for this action because I will be creating a second residential unit. (House, property, all owned by us and already paid off). The property also includes a brick garage for 2 cars, as well as enough other parking spaces for bicycles, which is supposed to be important.
The second question, for which I could find no answer anywhere, is whether anything changes tax-wise by adding this, i.e., do I have to report to the tax office so that property tax is recalculated? I will not pay rent later, and my parents currently do not have to file a tax return (their income is below the limit, and without rental income, that will remain so).
I hope I have given the necessary information. I would be happy if someone can tell me whether I have to get a permit, because time is also pressing, I have to move out of my rental apartment.
Thank you and best regards
M.