Can you sleep in a garden room?
The short and sweet answer is YES. You can sleep in a garden room.
The longer, and more in depth answer, is that it depends on what uses you have planned for the garden room. This will affect any regulations you need to meet and what planning permissions, if any, you must adhere to.
So you can sleep in a garden room?
At OGEL, we try to start with the basics of building regulations around garden rooms and then discuss the more complex subject of living or sleeping in an OGEL pod.
A garden room DOES NOT require planning permission as long as it meets the following criteria:
- Your garden room must not be higher than 2.5m from floor to roof (assuming it is a flat roof) and be built within 2m of a boundary.
- Your garden room, in combination with any other outbuildings you may have, mustn’t take up more than 50% of the available garden space.
- You cannot site your garden room in front of the principal elevation of the house, which in most cases is the front of the house. It must also not be built closer to a public road than the property itself.
- Any verandas and balconies on raised decking cannot be higher than 30cm in order to ensure privacy for neighbours and/or disrupt the views from their gardens.
A garden room DOES require planning permission if you plan to use it for ‘overnight’ accommodation.
What’s the difference between ancillary and incidental use?
It is important at this stage to explain ancillary and incidental use, as permitted development regulations are very exact on this and it could save a lot of problems further down the road.
- Ancillary use (requires planning permission): basically anything which you would do in a standard home… be it preparing food, using the bathroom, and sleeping
- Incidental use (no planning permission required): covers pretty much anything else that doesn’t fall under ancillary use. This could include storage… for example, gardening equipment, exercise apparatus – which could be a home gym – and hobby use.
But there is a grey area… which is the garden office.
Having spoken to a number of councils and unitary bodies over the years, OGEL has been informed that if we meet the basic criteria for a garden outbuilding then no planning permission is required. Assuming you are not falling asleep with your head on the desk!)
A quick phone call to your particular council might still be prudent, as this is still just guidance and is not enshrined in law. If you’d like any more information on the topic, this link HM government’s planning portal should help. Check it out here.
So I do need planning permission to sleep in a garden room?
Yes you do. But this doesn’t have to be as difficult as you first imagine. Though it can slow down the process.
Planning application – the basics
- Look for planning permission on the website of your local council
- Download or fill in the planning application form online and submit. Note there is normally a fee payable at this point.
- Depending on the proposal, a council officer may undertake a site visit.
- Your application is presented by the planning committee, typically with a recommendation from the council planning department.
- The planning application is approved or rejected.
Typically it will take 8 weeks for the planning application to go through.
Here at OGEL, we are happy to help with this process and in most cases have the answers for the planning department to hand. If you’d like an initial chat, please contact us at sales@ogelworld.com or 0800 056 0078.
How do I ensure I get my garden room planning application passed?
Whilst there is no guarantee of having an application passed, there are certain key areas to give consideration to:
Use
What is your garden room being used for? For example, a granny annexe will be less problematic than an AirBnB guest pod.
Materials
What materials are being used in the construction process of the garden room? This could include good quality windows and doors, appropriate insulation and ventilation.
Good design
Is the look of the garden room in keeping with that of your home and its surrounding properties?
Positioning
Whereabouts on your property is the garden room to be sited. Will it block out your neighbours’ light or overlook them? Is it too close to your home and would therefore be considered a fire risk? Is it to the front of your property?
Size
As mentioned previously, it is not normally allowable for garden outbuildings to take up more than 50% of the available outdoor space without getting planning permission.
Geographic location
Planning permission for national parks and AONB is more restrictive than for other urban or semi-rural settings.
Council tax
Will your council tax be affected, for instance if the garden room is intended as an additional income stream. Conversely if its use is for an elderly family member you may be eligible for a council tax discount.
Best-sized garden room for a bedroom
Whilst there are no hard and fast rules for what is the best size for a garden room bedroom, there are a number of key considerations to make.
Size of bed – single, double, kingsize?
Ventilation – ensure appropriate room volume and additional air circulation. For example… air conditioning.
Bathroom – is there a requirement for a shower, toilet and handbasin.
Here at OGEL, we normally recommend a minimum size of 4m x 3m for a garden bedroom without a bathroom and 5m x 3m with a bathroom (toilet, hand basin and shower).
Benefits of sleeping in a garden room
At this stage, you’re probably starting to think that a garden bedroom sounds like a lot of work.
But at OGEL, we know most of the pitfalls and can make the process much simpler than you imagine so, when you factor in the benefits, the downsides are greatly reduced.
Connection with nature for improved sleep quality
Imagine how great it would be to wake up fully refreshed on a bright Sunday morning and have your garden only a couple of steps away?
Privacy and tranquillity away from the main house
A garden bedroom has a completely different feel to a traditional main dwelling with the sights, sounds and smells being much closer.
Teenager pad
Children are leaving the nest at a much older age these days and having a ‘halfway house’ before they move out completely could be the ideal choice to ensure a harmonious family environment.
Guest accommodation
It’s great having friends and family to stay. But accommodating them in an already busy home is never great. Imagine having them stay without the upheaval of them being under the same roof.
Designing a garden room for sleep and more…
As with a traditional extension, it’s best to consider and plan in year round usage with the appropriate insulation rating (U value) for winter, and ventilation in the summer… often incorporating air conditioning.
Often a garden bedroom has more than one use so consideration should be made in the planning stage to the most flexible and comfortable fixtures and fittings. This could include a fold-down bed deck or bed sofa, and the right storage space for bedding.
A fully-equipped shower room is also a big consideration in retaining a level of autonomy, as is the best placement of electrical points and wifi connection.
OGEL has a great deal of experience when it comes to planning in these considerations, if you have any questions or want to know more, contact us at sales@ogelworld.com or 0800 056 0078.
What maintenance is required for a garden room used as a bedroom?
Traditional garden rooms are made from wood and the biggest problem with wood is that it requires yearly maintenance, especially when it comes to ensuring that the timbers on which the building is built don’t rot and warp.
A huge advantage of the OGEL building system is that it is made from composite materials that don’t rot. This ensures that our garden rooms are virtually maintenance-free. A washdown of the outer panels for dust in the summer and dirt splashes in the winter, alongside polishing the windows, is all that is required. The additional of a garden room can also increase the value of your property.
Real World Example
One of our clients, Paul, had a spacious garden but wanted to use it all year round, as well as have some flexible accommodation for when friends and family came to stay.
“Most of the time the garden room is laid out as a second living room but when we have visitors, the sofa turns into a bed… with quilts and sheets in the footstool. Our guests appreciate the privacy that the garden bedroom gives them and we appreciate the minimal disruption of not having visitors in the main house.”
FAQs
It depends on the use. If it’s domestic use – a teenager den, for example – then it won’t. If it’s commercial use – an AirBnB, for example – then the answer is yes… depending on your local authority.
Yes, it is legal to use garden rooms for sleeping… as long as you have the appropriate planning permission from your local council.
Yes. OGEL’s proprietary twin skin design has the same U value as a standard brick-built construction.
A garden bedroom does not require specialist bedroom fittings or bedding, though OGEL does recommend dual-purpose furniture – such as sofa beds – to get maximum usage from the space.
OGEL buildings use British Standard PAS 24 2012 uPVC windows and doors and can be fitted with additional security if required.
We recommend clip-in window blinds or standard curtains which we are happy to fit as part of our customer service.
One of the big advantages of the OGEL construction system is that its twin skin and use of composite materials means it has vastly superior acoustic insulation qualities when compared to standard wooden garden rooms.
Yes, it is perfectly legal to use your garden room as a guest bedroom as long as you have the appropriate planning permission from your local authority.
