Backland Development
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Build a home for family in your garden in Brighton

The first question for any family in Brighton thinking about building in the garden is usually this: annexe or proper house? The answer turns on the person moving in, how long they’re likely to stay, and whether you might ever want to sell or let the building on its own.

An annexe is used with your home and usually tied to it by condition. A separate dwelling stands alone, with its own permission and potentially its own title. Brighton and Hove City Council assesses them on different terms, and council tax, CIL and VAT rules split along the same line. Our free plot appraisal sets out both, so you can decide with your family and your advisers.

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Single-storey garden home with wide glazed doors and a covered porch at the back of a family garden
Planning authority
Brighton and Hove City Council
Postcodes
BN1, BN2
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
East Sussex

Before you decide in Brighton

Access usually decides what a Brighton garden can take. An annexe can often share your drive because it is used with the house, but a separate home needs an access Brighton and Hove City Council will accept for a dwelling in its own right, with room for cars, bin collection and emergency vehicles. We cover homes in Brighton and around Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea and Peacehaven, and on every plot we measure the drive width, the view along the road where the access joins it, and how far bins would need to travel, before anyone draws a plan.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Brighton: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.8 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Brighton on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

How we’d take it forward in Brighton

Here’s what happens next for a family home in Brighton. You tell us about your plot and who the home is for, and we carry out a free desktop appraisal of access, space and the planning context. If it looks viable we visit, then set out the annexe and separate-home options. With your go-ahead we survey, design and give you a written quote, then prepare the application for Brighton and Hove City Council.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your plot, access and the planning picture from the desk, talk through who will live in the new home, and visit if it looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.

  2. Annexe or separate home

    We set out both routes for your plot, covering what each means for planning, ownership, council tax, CIL and VAT, so you can decide with your family and advisers before design starts.

  3. Planning and approvals

    We prepare and submit the planning application and manage it with the council, which makes the decision. Before work starts, approval under the Building Regulations is in place and any CIL exemption has been claimed.

  4. Build and handover

    We build while you carry on living next door, with access, deliveries and working hours agreed up front. At handover you get the completion certificate and the paperwork you’ll need for council tax, lenders and any VAT claim.

Worth checking early

  • CIL exemptions are lost if work starts before the claim is made, and can be withdrawn if the home is sold or let within three years.
  • Planning is the council’s decision, and an annexe is not a way round the rules that apply to a new house.
  • A separate home needs its own garden, parking, bins and access, so it needs more land than an annexe.

Brighton: questions to ask

Can I build a separate house in my Brighton garden for my son or daughter?

Possibly, if the plot can work as a home in its own right. Brighton and Hove City Council will look at access, parking, garden space for both houses, privacy and the character of the street, as it would for any new house. If permission is granted, the plot can be transferred to your child with its own title, with your lender’s consent if the house is mortgaged.

Do I need planning permission for a granny annexe in Brighton?

Yes, almost always for a detached annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Brighton and Hove City Council will treat it as accommodation linked to your home and will usually add a condition so it can’t be let or sold separately. A garden building used only as a home office or gym is a different matter, but sleeping and cooking take it beyond those allowances.

Can I reclaim VAT on a family annexe in Brighton?

Often not. HMRC’s guidance gives an annexe that can’t be used or sold separately from the main house as an example of work that can’t be zero-rated, and the DIY housebuilders refund scheme asks the same question. A separate dwelling is usually treated differently. Take advice from a tax adviser before you settle the planning route, because the wording of the permission matters.

Can you design a home in Brighton for a relative who uses a wheelchair?

Yes. The design can include a level approach and threshold, turning space in each room, a wet room, wider doors and worktops at a usable height. Where Brighton and Hove City Council requires a particular access standard through planning, the design meets it; otherwise it’s your choice how far to go. Input from your relative’s occupational therapist is well worth having.

Other options in Brighton

Family home in your garden near Brighton

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.

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