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Homelodge Buildings Ltd is a family run business established in 1986, located in the pretty village of Crawley, near Winchester, Hampshire.

01962 881 480
[email protected]

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FAQ’s

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Answering Your Questions

Each Homelodge garden annexe is individually designed and constructed to your unique requirements, location, and budget. Although we provide Guide Prices (which can be found below), due to our tailored approach, providing an accurate quote is best achieved after your garden lodge design has been agreed. We offer a variety of customisable options for your garden home.

Unfortunately, we are unable to supply our garden annexes to Scotland or Northern Ireland.

 

Pricing

How much does a Homelodge garden annexe cost?

Our published prices on our website are based on the illustrations given and are for the building only. On top of these prices are any professional fees (for planning etc) and for the foundation groundworks and connection to services – as you can imagine these are very site specific & therefore difficult to price without seeing the site.

At this stage we can give you the following CURRENT 2023 BUDGET PRICES

Heritage Acc. 5.4 (3.6m x 5.4m – 12’ x 18’) – circa £53 – £63k + 5% VAT. This lodge attracts 5% VAT because it is under 23sq.m.

Heritage Acc. 7.3 (3.6m x 7.3m – 12’ x 24’) – circa £68k – £74k zero rated for VAT (This one is just big enough for a bedroom but it would a single)

Heritage Acc. 8.3 (3.6m x 8.3m – 12’ x 27’) – circa £79k – £84k zero rated for VAT

Heritage Acc. 9.1 (3.6m x 9.1m – 12’ x 30’) – circa £85k- £95k zero rated for VAT

Heritage Acc. 10.9 (3.6m x 10.9m – 12’ x 36’) – circa £94 – £102k zero rated for VAT.

The above 3 sizes (all single bay, 3.6m depth) are ideal for 1 bedroom designs

The Heritage Acc. 10.9 (3.6m x 10.8m – 12’ x 36’) single bay with 2 bedrooms (albeit not double bedrooms) would be circa £95k – £105k

The Heritage Acc. 12.7 (3.6m x 12.7m – 12’ x 41’) single bay with 2 bedrooms would be circa £102k – £112k.

The above designs/sizes can also be extended to form an ‘L’ shaped lodge – POA. For example a 7.3 ‘L’ shape would be circa £90k – £95k, 9.1 ‘L’ shape would be circa £100k – £115k, our 10.9m ‘L’ shape would be circa – £120k – £130k, and our 12.7m ‘L’ shape would be circa £130k – £140k

These prices will leave you with a building ready to furnish and occupy. They also include all groundworks, connection to services, shower/w.c. room, kitchen area etc.

The larger Premier twin-bays are from 4m up to 6m depth up to 6m x 18m – at this stage it is difficult to work a price on all the size variations. Again this is a full turn-key price leaving you with a building ready to occupy.

Popular Premier sizes – E.G.: 9m x 6m = £130k – £155k. 10.9m x 6m = £140k – £160k. 12m x 6m – £150k – £165k. 12.7m x 6m – £160k – £170k. 17.9m x 6m = £195k – £225k+.

All sizes mentioned are internal measurements.

Do you offer finance packages?

We do not offer any finance schemes for the payment of any of our buildings. A typical payment schedule is as follows:

On placing an order we would ask for 5% of a 10% deposit plus the professional fees to enable us to apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development. Once we receive the certificate we would ask for the remainder of the deposit.

The next payment is due 2 weeks prior to an agreed delivery date and will be 75% of the project price (less the deposit paid).

The final payments of the remaining 25% are split into 3 invoices – watertight, completion of groundworks and practical completion.

We always supply a payment schedule so you will know how much is due and when.

Do you offer free site surveys?

We carry out free site surveys so once we have been and created a design specifically for your project we can offer a more indicative quotation.

Do I have to pay VAT on a Homelodge annexe?

All our Accommodation Mobile Homes (bar Acc. 5.4) are exempt from VAT apart from any flooring and non-integral appliances.

The internal layout can be as you wish and the positions of doors and windows are very flexible. Options such as bathrooms, wet rooms, different style shower cubicles are available and we can make sure that the Lodges can accommodate someone in a wheelchair with wider access, level thresholds and ramps. The kitchens also will be designed to suit requirements and space.

Additional Costs

Do I have to pay stamp duty?

This is a new law which even recently has been amended, but our understanding after reading the current reports is that our ‘granny annexes’ would be exempt from the current regulations as the services will be taken from the main house and the lodge, under the planning general development law, could not be sold off separately to the main house.

Do I have to pay council tax?

Some councils can apply Council Tax to annexes, if they do it will be at the lowest band. However should the annexe be used by someone over 65 years then the Council Tax is suspended.

Do I have to insure my garden annexe?

Once we have officially handed over the annexe and our work is complete clearly the annexe must be insured. For the majority of our clients the annexe is added to the main dwelling house insurance without any issues whatsoever.

If you need any help or advice with insurance, please get in touch and we can recommend several providers.

Planning

Do I need planning permission?

We build our Accommodation lodges to conform structurally to the Mobile Home Act 1960/68 and providing they are lived in by someone who has a connection/dependence (i.e. relative, carer, employee) to the main dwelling house and will be sited within the garden curtilage planning permission is not required.

This will also apply if the lodge is to be used for occasional guests. However we always apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development from your Council which will give you a legal document that states your legal right to have the Lodge in your garden for the stated use.

This even applies to AONB etc & listed buildings. The Accommodation Premier 17.9 (17.9m x 6m) is the largest lodge we can install under the Mobile Home Act. (Please note: if the Lodge is to be rented out either for private letting or holiday lets then planning permission will definitely be required and VAT may be applicable)

You do not have to deal with your council. We use planning consultants to do all the liaising with the councils. This is all included in our service.

Building Regulations

Is a Homelodge annexe a mobile home?

Under the Mobile Home Act the structure and installation does not have to comply to Building Regulations. We have structurally engineered our lodges to a very high level to withstand their ability to be craned so they are a significantly strong construction.

Also when originally designed the insulation exceeded the current Building Regulations at that time. Building Regulations evolve as you would expect but we maintain a very high level of insulation thus making the lodges very warm, economic and eco-friendly.

However we believe it prudent to apply for Building Regulation approval to cover the foul drainage installation which is all part of our service.

Can Homelodge supply the shell of a building for me to complete to make it habitable?

No, we are not able to do this. We have to submit plans to the council to show that the lodge qualifies as a mobile home, if we don’t show a kitchen, bathroom then it’s not a home. Also a Mobile Home is zero rated for VAT so if we are not installing a mobile home we would have to charge VAT. A client can do their own groundworks but they have to be to our specification.

Do Homelodge do extensions?

No, we do not offer house extensions. To qualify as a mobile home the lodges have to be stand-alone so that they are capable of being mobile.

Guarantees

What is the Homelodge guarantee?

Once the Lodge is complete the whole project is guaranteed for 12 months plus any additional warranties on appliances if applicable.

The structure of the Lodge is guaranteed for 10 years. The roof tiles are guaranteed for 10 years with a life expectancy of 30 – 35 years.

External maintenance is essential as it is a timber construction – the paint we use on the external face is a microporous paint which the manufacturer recommends redecorating every 5/6years. We offer wood grain effect UPVC windows and doors.

Foundations

What foundation system does Homelodge use?

We use a Padstone foundation system rather than a full concrete raft. The depth of the foundations are up to 1m deep and are dug at strategic weight bearing points of the lodge, these holes are filled with concrete and levelled off with a paving slab. The lodge sits on these slabs via metal shoes.

This method leaves a very important air gap beneath the lodge keeping the wood ventilated. This gap can be cloaked off or the addition of decking looks perfect. We can price for demolishing existing buildings, site clearance and landscaping.

Delivery

What is the current delivery schedule?

To give you an idea of when we would be able to deliver a Homelodge, at the moment if you were to place an order today we would have to advise you the worst case scenario would be approximately 10 months from now.

As our manufacturing & delivery programme is very flexible there is every likelihood that it could be sooner but we are not in a position to make any promises of an earlier delivery date until you are ready to place an order. Unfortunately we are unable at the present time to supply a service to Scotland or Ireland/Northern Ireland.

What is the Homelodge delivery process?

The lodges are made at our factory/offices in panel form and delivered to site flat-packed on the back of a 40ft flat bed lorry. Each panel is then off loaded and taken to the oversite by our installation team. Once constructed the lodges are capable of being lifted by a crane in either one or two lifts.

How long do you spend on site?

This is dependent on the size and specification of the build, but on average 4 – 6 weeks from start to finish.

Utilities

Are utilities connected to the main house?

Fresh water and electricity will be taken from the main house and the foul drainage will be taken to the nearest inspection chamber. The utility bills will still go to the main house but we can, if wished, put electric and water meters into the lodge so that usage can be monitored. We make all the connections. Our fully qualified electrician and plumber will wire and plumb all the necessary fixtures and fittings and will supply commissioning certificates at the end of the project.

Where do we build?

What areas does Homelodge cover?

We are based just outside of Winchester, Hampshire and build our lodges around England.

We are not able to build in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Channel Islands. We do not export either.

Show Lodge

Do you have a show lodge?

We have 2 show lodges available for viewing at our office address. We would advise that an appointment is made to make sure an appropriate member of our team is available to make the most of your visit.

Weekend viewings are by appointment only.

The original show lodge is our Accommodation 10.9 (3.6m x 10.9m) and we have it designed to offer an entrance lobby with a utility cupboard, a double bedroom, a shower/w.c. room and a large open plan lounge with a fully fitted ‘L’ shape kitchen. Our new show lodge is 10.9m x 6m and has been designed to offer 2 bedrooms, entrance lobby with cupboard (big enough to have a washing machine fitted within), large shower & w/c room, large lounge with dining area and a beautiful fitted kitchen.

We hope the above is helpful, should you have any further queries or require more details please do not hesitate to contact us.