Practical considerations for basement conversions
As technology improves, basement conversions are becoming increasingly popular – as kitchens, spare rooms, dens or teenagers’ rooms. Of course, by no means all types of property are suitable for this type of conversion. You would need to have a cellar or basement already and some way of getting natural light into the new room. You would also certainly need planning permission.
Some practical considerations
Cellars were originally intended for storage and not as habitable rooms. As with loft conversions, there needs to be enough ceiling height already – or the possibility of excavating to achieve it – so that adults would not have to permanently stoop.
A major problem with basements is that, almost invariably, they are damp. It may not be possible for this to be completely eradicated, so you may have to settle for best results. Basements will almost certainly need tanking out, to address the damp problem, but this may not get rid of every scrap of damp.
Other considerations are the same as for loft conversions. For example, will you need a new staircase? What about heating? Is it possible to have a shower, loo and basin in the new basement? Again, the more facilities the new basement room has, the more it is likely to be used.
Many basements and cellars contain gas or electric meters, boilers and other unsightly accoutrements of modern living. Think about whether or not they will have to be re-sited and, if so, where?
Converting a basement into a flat
If you are considering creating a separate flat in the basement, then you will need planning permission and a separate heating and lighting system, plus separate meters. Ideally, basement flats should have their own front doors, but this is not possible with every conversion. Where a separate self-contained flat is created, there will be council tax issues and freehold/leasehold issues, too, especially if you are considering selling the basement flat as a separate entity.
Basement flats are never as popular or pricey as above-ground flats, although in areas that are generally highly desirable, they will still fetch a good price. So, if you are developing for profit, do thorough research into the prices of such properties to establish whether or not you really can add value with a basement conversion. In tall Victorian houses, the garden is often adjacent to the basement, so, if you convert the basement into a separate dwelling, you may lose the garden and, so, all your outside space.
Basement conversions that are autonomous add flexibility to your property and provide the possibility of an income should you want to rent it out. Alternatively, if the worst comes to the worst, you could live in the basement yourself and rent out the top of the house. If you can afford it, I would always advise anyone to develop an unused cellar or basement into a self-contained flat rather than just another room. It may take some time for any value to be added, if it is your own home, but, in densely populated areas where there is unlikely to be a significant increase in the housing stock, an extra place to live will always give your house the edge over others in the street without such conversions.
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