ᐅ Building a 150-160 sqm Single-Family Home in Parents’ Garden – Feeling Overwhelmed!
Created on: 24 Jun 2021 16:15
G
GnortiNRW
Hello everyone,
My partner and I are planning to build a single-family house of about 150-160 square meters (1,615-1,722 square feet) in my parents’ garden. The plot we want to use is around 500 square meters (5,382 square feet).
It is a vacant lot, designated as a residential area in the land use plan, but there is no binding development plan. It is directly adjacent to the street, so it is serviced, and the neighboring houses vary greatly in color, height, and orientation.
Now to our problems.
We would, of course, like to build as close to the street as possible to avoid wasting garden space. However, the houses on both sides are set quite far back. (Attachment plot 70)
We will need to submit a building permit inquiry to find out where our house can be positioned.
When I called the building authority, I couldn’t even get a clear answer about whether we are allowed to build at all.
Person A said yes, person B claimed it is an outer area where building is not permitted, and person C said they cannot give me any information by phone, and so on.
Problem 2: The soil on our site seems to be problematic in terms of infiltration (hardly possible).
Therefore, before planning the floor plan or anything else, we need to have a geotechnical report done.
But this can only work once we know where the house is supposed to be placed… which we only find out after the building permit inquiry.
And now I don’t even know if building is allowed at all if water cannot infiltrate on the property.
So we definitely have to start with the building permit inquiry, which will cost about 800 € (approx. $850) with an architect.
After that, we would commission the geotechnical report (quotes range from 2,100 € to 2,600 € / approx. $2,230-$2,760), which might then show that building is impossible due to lack of infiltration options on the soil.
Then we would have spent about 3,600 € (approx. $3,780) and maybe achieved nothing.
To sum up: I somehow can’t make any progress without the other things and feel a bit stuck in a loop—
Could you please share your assessment and advice on the best way to proceed?
My partner and I are planning to build a single-family house of about 150-160 square meters (1,615-1,722 square feet) in my parents’ garden. The plot we want to use is around 500 square meters (5,382 square feet).
It is a vacant lot, designated as a residential area in the land use plan, but there is no binding development plan. It is directly adjacent to the street, so it is serviced, and the neighboring houses vary greatly in color, height, and orientation.
Now to our problems.
We would, of course, like to build as close to the street as possible to avoid wasting garden space. However, the houses on both sides are set quite far back. (Attachment plot 70)
We will need to submit a building permit inquiry to find out where our house can be positioned.
When I called the building authority, I couldn’t even get a clear answer about whether we are allowed to build at all.
Person A said yes, person B claimed it is an outer area where building is not permitted, and person C said they cannot give me any information by phone, and so on.
Problem 2: The soil on our site seems to be problematic in terms of infiltration (hardly possible).
Therefore, before planning the floor plan or anything else, we need to have a geotechnical report done.
But this can only work once we know where the house is supposed to be placed… which we only find out after the building permit inquiry.
And now I don’t even know if building is allowed at all if water cannot infiltrate on the property.
So we definitely have to start with the building permit inquiry, which will cost about 800 € (approx. $850) with an architect.
After that, we would commission the geotechnical report (quotes range from 2,100 € to 2,600 € / approx. $2,230-$2,760), which might then show that building is impossible due to lack of infiltration options on the soil.
Then we would have spent about 3,600 € (approx. $3,780) and maybe achieved nothing.
To sum up: I somehow can’t make any progress without the other things and feel a bit stuck in a loop—
Could you please share your assessment and advice on the best way to proceed?
G
GnortiNRW29 Jun 2021 08:57Escroda schrieb:
Then make sure you only ask questions that don’t require a licensed design professional with building submission authority. Could you please explain that in more detail?
I was planning to use my site plan, position the house to scale at the desired location, including roof orientation and setback distances. Also, a short description of the approximate appearance of the house.
Is something missing? Or is that already too much?
GnortiNRW schrieb:
Is something missing? Yes. The building permit application form with the check marks in the right places and the question(s) that need to be clarified.
GnortiNRW schrieb:
Or is that already too much? Maybe. If you don’t ask any specific questions at all, or if you ask about the extent of permitted development, for example how large or how tall the building is allowed to be, or if you demand answers beyond the three areas mentioned in the state building code that do not require submission by an authorized party (type of use, construction method, buildable plot area), the authorities will most likely reject your application due to formal errors.
GnortiNRW schrieb:
... that an architect is strictly required for the preliminary inquiry. This statement is neither completely true nor false, but requires further explanation.
Tassimat schrieb:
for example 8 m x 10 m As soon as dimensions appear without explanation, this can be interpreted as a question about the size of the building volume, which would require submission by an authorized professional. If, on the other hand, you only ask about the acceptability of the location of the outlined building, this relates to the buildable area, which does not require an authorized professional.
As you can see, it’s not straightforward, and that is why the authorities recommend involving experts early on rather than spending weeks dealing with insufficient building applications and frustrated builders. With the statement
GnortiNRW schrieb:
that this concerns development according to Section 34. and the images presented here, I consider the plot to be 99.9% likely buildable, so investing in someone knowledgeable is worthwhile.
L
Larf Raulen30 Jun 2021 11:44What do you want to achieve with such a preliminary building inquiry? Its informative value only matches the accuracy of your sketch. Consult an architect and have the project properly designed; everything else is a waste of time.
a) Unplanned interior area = building rights exist
b) The building density of the neighborhood indicates that development is likely possible; the plot feels like a gap
c) The plot size also allows for compliance with setbacks and clearance distances
d) Distance to the street is determined by an imagined line between the neighboring properties
a) Unplanned interior area = building rights exist
b) The building density of the neighborhood indicates that development is likely possible; the plot feels like a gap
c) The plot size also allows for compliance with setbacks and clearance distances
d) Distance to the street is determined by an imagined line between the neighboring properties