I was thinking about buying a small house with an attached garage, and converting the garage into an apartment for extra income. I've heard in some areas that is illegal, and the penalty for doing so is hefty fines. Would i be able to do that with a single family detached house? Or does it depend on the neighborhood?

You can apply for a zoning change allowing you to do as for the city granting one depends on the location

That is a good idea John. It probably depends on what part of town you are planning to buy in. If you don't need all the space live in the converted garage yourself and rent the house out. It is the same mortgage payment but you can rent the house for 2-3X more, which will allow you to live there for free.

Sometimes it is challenging and expensive to add a bathroom in garage space. But it is usually doable. I think you will be required to get the approval of all of the neighbors for this, but maybe not.

Sometimes it is challenging and expensive to add a bathroom in gargage space. But it is usually doable. I think you will be required to get the approval of all of the neighbors for this, but maybe not.

I lived in a couple of garage apartments when I first moved out. Also have a friend who rents out a garage apartment near downtown. I was told it usually just comes down to any home owners bylaws for your community.

You should determine the requirements, if any, to get a separate occupancy permit for any space you're converting with the intent of renting it out. And that may slide a whole pile of unexpected requirements and inspections on the conversion project. Your neighborhood is probably zoned for single-family dwellings, and converting an existing house to multi-familyi may violate the zoning - meaning you might have to apply for a variance. Lastly, check the requirements of any restrictive covenants in your area that may well forbid subletting or garage conversion in the manner you're discussing.

Lots of "mays" and "mights" in there, just thinking about the kinds of things to think about. Some, all, or none of these concerns may be relevant. :)

I was thinking about buying a small house with an attached garage, and converting the garage into an apartment for extra income. I've heard in some areas that is illegal, and the penalty for doing so is hefty fines. Would i be able to do that with a single family detached house? Or does it depend on the neighborhood?

I would start by contacting your homeowners association (if there is one) and the planning department.

Do NOT do this until you are sure you have legal permission. It isn't just about paying fines - in some cases, you can find yourself in a situation where you have to remove expensive changes. Alternatively, you could have shelled out a lot of money and be in the remodeling process when you get slapped with an injunction that could be costly, long lasting and time consuming. Further, you'll need permits and the zoning is part of the application, typically. Also, although people have correctly told you that you need to ask for a variance if there is a zoning problem, be aware that getting one is no sure thing - in fact, in many neighborhoods it just isn't going to happen. Single family neighborhoods often have owners that will fight tooth and nail to keep renters out. Renters may be a boon to the home owner but they typically drag down the value of the neighborhood property values.

In my neighborhood, we are zoned single family and that isn't going to change if anyone has anything to say about it. Still, a new neighbor built a lovely home on an empty lot with a separate "workshop" that included a small kitchen, bathroom, den and bedroom. He promptly moved in his very elderly parents who were "almost" self sustaining. He went around the neighborhood and told the neighbors what he was doing. His point was that they were very old with health problems (beginning dementia and some physical ailments) and under the best of circumstances, wouldn't live long. It helped him to be able to move them to his place where they could be self sufficient as long as possible. He explained that when they were gone, he intended to actually use the small house as a shop.

Long story short, they are lovely old people and no one objected. We all "get" helping out elderly parents and they certainly are not going to drag down the property values, throw wild parties, bring in god knows who to shack up, trash the place and move off in the middle of the night. But more to the point for this thread, if they had wanted to simply rent out the house to strangers, it would have hit the fan. No one in this neighborhood wants fly by night renters moving in and dragging down the property values. Moreover, the neighborhood typically loses a feeling of safety when you start having people moving in and out - in a home owning neighborhood, you get to know each other over time and even the neighborhood kooks are usually not cause for unease. The devil you know...

Ok. so if I had a duplex, which is already zoned for multifamily, converting the garage for that should be simpler, right?

Ok. so if I had a duplex, which is already zoned for multifamily, converting the garage for that should be simpler, right?

That's less likely to be a problem - but always check. Good luck! I hope it works out for you.

Duplicate post - sorry.