Can both houses be insured as my home?
Q For work reasons, I live between two houses which I own. The insurance company insists that only one can be insured as my private home, the other must be insured as a holiday home – which is restrictive and expensive and simply not accurate. It is not a holiday home. It is where I live, part of the time. Any advice?
AYour frustration is coming through loud and clear! We got on to the Irish Insurance Federation about your problem and a spokesman points out that there are differing levels of cover for different types of property.
Cover for main residences is generally cheaper and more extensive than the cover which applies to other categories of property such as holiday homes, which is subject to certain terms and conditions. The rationale behind this approach is that main residences are lower risk by virtue of being owner occupied for longer, eg lower theft risk, lower risk of burst pipes, etc.
Where one has a main residence and a second home insurers would generally rate the two risks accordingly and adopt a holiday- home type approach to the second home.
This would appear to be unfair in your case – some people use their holiday homes for as little as a fortnight a year while you are in and out of your second home all the time and in a far better position to keep it secure, etc. All this you pretty much know, but perhaps you have not gone down the broker route, which is what the IIF suggests. An experienced broker can trawl the market and put your case for you to get the best quote. The Irish Insurance Federation has a free Insurance Information Service for members of the public who have queries, complaints or difficulties in relation to insurance. The IIS can be contacted by phone on 01-6761914 or by email at iis@iif.ie.
Do I need planning permission for attic?
Q I live in a normal three-bed semi. Do I need planning permission to convert the attic into a bedroom with an ensuite?
AIt depends on what you want to do. Normally the answer is no, if it is a simple job where the only exterior change to your house will be a Velux-type roof light on the roof at the back of the house. However if you plan on adding a dormer window or putting any type of windows into the front or side of the house then planning permission is usually required.
Even if planning permission is not required, you should ensure that the conversion follows building regulations – so, for example, the existing joists will almost certainly not be strong enough to support a new floor and these must be strenghtened; the window must be of certain dimensions and accessibility to allow it be an exit in the event of a fire, etc. It can be difficult to imagine what an attic conversion is going to be like – people can be disappointed at how small the eventual room can be, or how much space the staircase takes up, etc – so if one of your neighbours already has the job done ask to see it or ask to see previous work done by your builder.
Your questions
Send your queries to Property questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irishtimes.com. This column is a readers’ service and is not intended to replace professional advice.
