Granny flat costs you should know about before you build
Is the government granny flat building scheme all it’s cracked up to be? Upfront council fees are causing headaches for some, but an expert has said the benefits outweigh the costs. DETAILS >>
Tasmania
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- Government offers Tasmanians $10k bonus if they build a granny flat on their existing property
- Granny flat $10k bonus to be announced within weeks
Is the government scheme offering $10,000 to Tasmanians to build a granny flat on their property all it’s cracked up to be?
A south Tasmanian man was looking forward to building a small ancillary unit on his property, hopefully for his adult son to rent, but he’s seriously considering whether the upfront costs are worth it.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he would have to fork out more than $8000 just to apply for planning and approval.
“I’m a bit worse off because I’m on a five acre block so it adds up to something like $8000 to get it in and through council within 90 days,” he said.
The man spoke to his local council to estimate costs.
The list included an $800 planning application fee, $2000 minimum for a licenced draftsman, $1000 for a bushfire report, $500 for a land surveyor, $1000 for a building surveyor, $1500 for building and plumbing fees, $450 for state levies and between $800-$1000 for a septic tank consultant.
“It’s like they’ve said ‘here’s 10,000, go and give it to the council’,” he said.
Podmatrix director Josh Muskett said building a granny flat, or ancillary unit, was a “pretty easy process”, but national material shortages meant the usual four week build would likely take people eight to ten weeks.
“A standard ancillary unit can be 60m2, and that doesn’t cost anything to go and do your own investigation,” Mr Muskett said.
“If you want to go further they might charge for plans, or it might not cost anything. For instance the Sorrel Council standard discretional planning fee is $900, but that’s not to say in every instance planning is required.”
Mr Muskett said many ancillary units would not need to go through the planning approval process, but if the boundaries were tight or other questions arises you would need a planning permit, which is when building and plumbing fees apply.
“It’s based on the costs of the build, so a $150,000 build would probably be around $1500 for a building and planning permit,” he said.
Mr Muskett said residential properties won’t need a bushfire report, but rural properties might.
“Depending on the area or if you’re on a septic tank you might need a soil test, or a wastewater design to see if the current system can cope with the extra load,” he said.
Mr Muskett said $8000 in fees would be the “worst case scenario”, estimating $3000 was a more common amount.
He said the upfront costs were worth the investment, with the opportunity to save up to 25 per cent depreciation on tax.
“What people have to remember is you’re doing an investment into your property and you’re getting a rental return, the government is giving you $10,000 to put towards that, then after a while you’re going to help the state out by putting more homes into the economy,” Mr Muskett said.
“Regardless, it’s not going to be a quick turnaround right at the moment because of the skill shortage and material shortage.”
Mr Muskett said Podmatrix installed at least 40 granny flats, over half of which didn’t go through planning, and all of which were passed through the state government’s Backyard youth initiative.
Some councils are looking towards the future of ancillary dwellings beyond the $10,000 state government boost.
The Hobart City Council supported a motion from Helen Burnet in June encouraging ancillary dwellings as a tool to combat the housing crisis.
The motion moved to prepare a report identifying suitable properties where extra dwellings could be built.
“The City of Hobart is currently looking at how to make information around building ancillary dwellings more accessible and easier to understand, in order to encourage more residents to consider building on their properties and, in turn, create more housing choices in Hobart,” a HCC spokeswoman said.
COUNCIL FEES – GREATER HOBART
Several Greater Hobart councils shared ancillary dwelling application statistics from the last year with the Mercury, though the number of applications did not include some applications which may have been for a dwelling plus ancillary.
Other statistics were taken from the respective councils’ websites.
Clarence City Council
CCC approved 14 ancillary dwellings in the last financial year, but many more were estimated to have progressed without assessment.
A council spokesman said typical costs included $798 discretionary planning fee, $460 for buildings over $20,000, plumbing works between $150-$670, and state levies.
He said non-council fees which applied more rarely included bushfire reports between $1000-$1500, building surveyor between $1500 and $3000 and draftsmen for building design about $2500.
Glenorchy City Council
GCC received 11 applications in the last 12 months.
“Where a planning permit is required, the application fee for an ancillary dwelling is in the order of $600 which includes the $339 cost of advertising the application,” a GCC spokeswoman said.
Extra costs might include $160 per hour for building surveying, $683 plumbing for buildings over $20,000 and between $230-$569 for a building permit.
Hobart City Council
“In the past year, the City of Hobart has received 18 applications for ancillary dwellings.”
HCC, which received 18 applications in the last year, charged $300 for buildings less than $20,000 and $500 for projects between $20,000 and $200,000.
Building permit applications are about $400-$600 and plumbing permit applications are typically $540-$905.
Huon Valley Council
HVC had seven applications approved in the last year.
“An assessment needs to be made to determine if a residential use could negatively impact upon any existing or future permitted or no-permit-required uses,” a council spokeswoman said.
Fees included $325 for residential alterations, between $180-$540 for inspection of plumbing work and between $165-$570 for building applications, depending on the building’s value.
Kingborough Council
A council spokeswoman said height zones, setbacks, heritage and overlay were all factors determining whether or not a granny flat needed planning approval, with 14 dwellings approved in the last financial year.
She said planning fees ranged from $147-$339.
Other maximum costs might include $327 public notification, $824 council building permit fees, $1388 for plumbing approval.
How to apply for a $10,000 grant to build your own granny flat
THE state government is bracing for a flood of applications for its $10,000 granny flat grants.
The $2.5 million Ancillary Dwellings Grant Program will provide cash for homeowners who provide rental accommodation to their properties.
Grants of up to $10,000 are available to the first 250 eligible applicants that submit a complete application once the program opens at 3pm on Wednesday.
Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing Micheal Ferguson said the program was intended to support property owners to build a new ancillary dwelling and to boost the rental market supply.
“They have to start within six months, they have to finish within two years, and they must lease it to somebody who needs a lease,” Mr Ferguson said.
“So it’s going to increase the stock of rental homes in Tasmania by 250 and we are very pleased to see this now coming to fruition.
“This is coming at a cost of the budget of $2.5 million dollars and we believe is a very efficient use of Tasmanian government resources.
“It is of course, just a small part of the overall $615 million investment that we’re making into social and affordable housing and homelessness strategies, but we believe that this one’s going to be a winner.”
Matrix Pods director Josh Muskett said the grant would provide a welcome boost for the industry, while providing more housing.
“It’s a huge boost for our business and no doubt for any builder in Tasmania.
“Not only will it provide more homes in Tasmania for those that need it will also provide another investment for homeowners, they can make a nice investment in their property and get a rental return as well.”
Further information on the grants program is available on the Department of State Growth website.
Problem gambling costs Tasmania up to $160 million each year
PROBLEM gambling costs the Tasmanian community up to $160 million each year, although the true extent of the social and economic damage is impossible to measure, a new report has found.
Gambling took a toll through financial and emotional distress, relationship breakdowns, lost work or impaired performance and property and violent crime, the Fifth Social and Economic Impact Study of gambling in Tasmania has found.
But it is likely that over all gambling is a net economic positive for the community, it said.
“In total, the social costs of gambling that could be both quantified and expressed in monetary values, are estimated to be between $49 million and $160 million per annum,” the report says.
“The most significant quantifiable cost of gambling in Tasmania is the estimated cost of relationship breakdown at almost $57 million, followed by psychological distress of problem gamblers and their immediate family.
“Some of the social cost estimates are likely to be conservative.
“For example, the costs of violent crime (essentially intimate partner violence) in this analysis are based on the prevalence estimated by the Productivity Commission, and represent only a small share of costs.
“These estimates of gambling related violence may be substantially understated.”
The report said the likely net economic benefit of gambling to Tasmania was estimated at between minus $36 million and $158 million.
Finance Minister Michael Ferguson welcomed the report, saying the prevalence of gambling in Tasmania has declined from 71.7 per cent in 2008, to 58.5 per cent in 2017 and 47 per cent in 2020.
“The report shows that the most common gambling activity in Tasmania was lottery tickets with 37 per cent of adult Tasmanians participating, followed by Keno at 17 per cent, instant scratchies,11 per cent and electronic gaming machines, 9 per cent).
The report revealed that poker machine losses were down from $204 million in the last report to $174 million.
“Tasmania has the lowest per capita expenditure on gambling of all the states at $733 per adult compared with the Australian average of $1277,” Mr Ferguson said.
The report revealed that an estimated 0.4 per cent of adult Tasmanians were classified as problem gamblers based on the Problem Gamblers Severity Index, down from 0.6 per cent in the 4th SEIS.
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