Granny flat
A granny flat is an additional flat in a home that is of minor importance compared to the main flat . This is defined in Section 11 of the German Housing and Family Home Act (Second Housing Act, II. WoBauG), which was in force in Germany from 1956 to 2001 .
The granny flat does not necessarily have to be closed off from the main flat in the sense of the building laws or section 1.11 of DIN 283 03/1951 sheet 1, but can be rented independently. Since unfinished granny flats can hardly be rented due to the increased demands on the standard of housing, granny flats are now regularly closed. If the apartment also has sanitary facilities and a permanent cooking facility, the building is considered a two-family house under tax law (Section 75 of the Valuation Act ).
During the period in which the II. WoBauG was in force, both the main apartment and the granny apartment had to correspond to the definition of apartment in section 1.1 of DIN 283 03/1951 Part 1. This was understood to mean a sum of rooms that made it possible to run a household, including always a kitchen or a room with cooking facilities. In addition, this necessarily included a water supply, sink and toilet. Interestingly enough, electricity or gas was not required to be supplied with energy, although electric light was at least common back then.
Its function as a subordinate apartment means that the granny flat has no direct access to the apartment from outside, otherwise it would be regarded as a second apartment in the residential building. Therefore, access to the granny flat can be from a shared porch or via the stairwell of the main flat, which is why it is basically also possible in the basement or attic.
In some cases, special legal regulations apply to tenancies for granny apartments, in particular with regard to protection against dismissal (see Section 573 a of the German Civil Code ).
Originally served granny flats for rental to the on farms employed farm workers , the so-called granny . After the Second World War , the 1st Housing Act in Germany stipulated the installation of granny flats in new single-family houses in order to remedy the housing shortage. However, many granny flats were then not rented out freely, but used by family members of the homeowners (e.g. parents, grandparents).
Individual evidence
- ↑ § 11 II. WoBauG in full