Granny flats are not what they used to be – today they are increasingly likely to be filled by a millennial desperate for their own space. With nearly half the graduates who paid full tuition fees in 2015 back living with their parents, plus all the other young adults unable to get a foot on the property ladder, there has been a boom in so-called “graddy annexes” to accommodate young people moving home.
According to reports, the number of homes with an annexe for family members has jumped by a third in the past two years – thanks to council tax breaks for those building to house relatives. Before April 2014, homeowners had to pay full council tax on annexes attached to a main household if they had fitted kitchens or bathrooms. But now there is a 50% discount on council tax bills if the occupier is a family member.
The new “graddy flats” cost around £20,000 – which drops if it is a garage conversion - but some families are forking out much more for their intergenerational living.
Felix Bolger, managing director of Homelodge, specialises in building self-contained “granny annexes”. His company has seen a 20% increase in inquiries from “parents wanting to help their children get a foot on the property ladder” – even though its bedsit-style lodges start at around £40,000. For £50,000 you can have a separate bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette. When the children have finally saved enough to move out, then you’ve got your own guest annexe or gym.
He points out that for adults and their young-adult children, there are definite “benefits to not living under the same roof”, but staying close. While Homelodge has orders from Yorkshire to Wales, most of its inquiries for “graddy annexes” come from the south east where property is most expensive. Their smart timber buildings, he says - which can cost up to £180,000 – are really popular with generous grandparents looking to help their children with young families. They move into the annexes themselves and pass on their family home to their children.
Kevin Wotton says it’s the perfect fit for his family. They decided to have a timber lodge put into the garden of their Ilford home so 20-year-old daughter Sophie could move home after university and start saving up for a place of her own. “When I was moving out of home it was easier to save and get a mortgage,” says Kevin, “now you need around five years of savings behind you.” He says the arrangement means Sophie has her independence, but also gets to spend time with her brother, who has autism, and who she is very close to. In fact, she is so happy with it she has ended up moving home earlier, commuting to Guildford, where she studies, to make the most of her new space.
It’s the same story over at Landmark Lofts, which says it is doing two or three new loft conversions across London every month for “boomerang” children. The company’s design consultant says having an extra floor means everyone keeps their privacy – which parents appreciate so they don’t have to deal with the messiness of recent students.
View all comments >