Garden Room Building Regulations & Planning - EN1647

[iSelfBuild]

Few questions for the knowledgeable buildhubbers. Is there a minimum size for EN1647 caravans? Does a caravan have to be stationed a certain distance from your garden boundary?

 

I am planning to build a little log cabin as an office shortly - to EN1647 caravan regulations which lets me 5% VAT rate it and class it as plant & machinery in my business.

 

Roughly 3m x 5m

 

Despite supplying a few BS3632 cabins I have never made one so small... and they have always exceeded both 2.55m and 7m length.

 

A “small” caravan (that is, one not exceeding either 7 metres in length or 2.55 metres in width) is subject to VAT at the standard rate. A structure which exceeds either of these dimensions - but is not manufactured to British Standard 3632:2005 - is subject to VAT at the reduced rate of 5%. One which exceeds either of these dimensions and is manufactured to BS3632:2005, can be zero-rated. 

 

I can't class it as BS3632 0% VAT as this has a minimum m2 requirement of 23m2. Don't have the EN1647 handbook but I'm assuming this allows smaller sizes... does anyone know? 

 

As a garden building I would need planning... If I do it as a caravan maybe not???

 

I want to put this 1m from my boundary... to avoid building regulations as they will be 200mm square logs so I don't want to cover this up with tin etc to make it 'fire proof'

 

I don't want to be constrained by the 2.5m height limit for garden buildings not requiring planning so I should have to put in for planning permission and will have a ridge height of 4.3m

 

As a garden building I could keep it at 4m without needing planning but it would then have to be 2m from the boundary and the garden shape is so awkward it wont really work.

 

Or is there some other loop hole where I don't even need planning permission as it is classified as a caravan... and planning is not required for caravan in your garden but then there is probably regulations governing how close they can be to the boundary?

 

 

[Ferdinand]

On wheels?

[iSelfBuild]

2 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

On wheels?

 

Nope cross laminated bolted timber ring beam chassis (jacked up and then steel slid under and craned up) capable of being moved as proved by a rather expensive engineer but I would never want to pay the crane costs!!!

[Temp]

Is it a home office or are you running a business from it? This may matter..

 

Generally you can store a caravan or any other vehicle anywhere you like in your garden.

 

The need for Planning Permission may depend on what you use it for, or rather what you are using the land for. I don't think business use comes under "incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling house" but a home office for storing utility bills, doing your personal tax returns in etc might do. So if anyone complains its a home office/tv/computer games room.

 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/8/section/55/2006-06-07?view=plain

 

(2)The following operations or uses of land shall not be taken for the purposes of this Act to involve development of the land—

Snip

(d) the use of any buildings or other land within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse as such;

 

I haven't checked if that's latest version.

 

 

 

 

[iSelfBuild]

Its just for doing business admin from. Plan to stick a little sofa in there and make it look a bit like this. 

[Ferdinand]

@iSelfBuild

 

Have PM'd you.