VIC Do I need planning permission to let out a part of my house...?

[Mollis]

Good afternoon all...

I have a split level house which has separate entrances with one downstairs and another upstairs along with an internal door that links the two parts of the property.

I have recently let the downstairs area out to a single mum and her son on a 12 months lease. The only alterations that have been made are the addition of a kitchen and I have positioned a shelving unit to hide the internal door.

All the utilities are unchanged and come to me as a single bill.

The council have just been round to inspect having been advised I had completed an unauthorised lower level conversion to a 2BR unit.

They are threatening all sorts but, from what I can tell, whilst I may need to get a permit for the kitchen, I shouldn't need any planning permission so long as the internal doorway is in place.

Can anyone direct me to more information on this or throw a little light on the key aspects I need to be aware of here.

Thanks in advance and as always, thanks for sharing your insights and experience.

Cheers

 

[Tim W]

In council-think, it may be a question of land use and zoning (density),
rather than about design.
Perhaps in their eyes, the problem is that it's two residences, on land that only provides for one.
Consider how that extra kitchen, taken together with a door separating the two living spaces,
makes the others tenants of another space, rather than mere housemates sharing one space.