The short answer
- The portals have no annexe filterThe links below put "annexe" into each site's keyword search for East Sussex and its main towns, so you can start straight away.
- The planning permission decides who can live thereRead the permission for the annexe and its conditions before you make an offer, and see what your council says about annexes below.
- A parent in the annexe can mean no council tax on itAn annexe lived in by a dependent relative is exempt, and other relatives get 50% off.
- Care can come to the annexeHourly care on PrimeCarers costs £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included. Live-in care starts at £1,050 a week.
Ready-made searches
Houses with an annex on the market in East Sussex
Each link opens a property site's search for East Sussex, or one of its towns, with the word "annexe" already in the keyword box. The sites search the words in each listing's description, so a house is only picked out if the agent mentioned the annexe. Rightmove still lists every home and moves the matching ones to the top.
All of East Sussex, searching for “annexe”
Agents spell it different ways, so try the other words too on Rightmove: annex, granny flat and self contained.
The main towns, searching for “annexe”
- BrightonRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- EastbourneRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- HastingsRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- LewesRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- CrowboroughRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- UckfieldRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
What the councils say
What East Sussex's councils say about annexes
In East Sussex, planning and council tax sit with Brighton and Hove City Council and the five district and borough councils. Two of them, Rother and Hastings, publish plain answers to the question of whether an annexe needs planning permission, and they are worth reading wherever in the county you are looking.
Brighton and Hove City Council
Covers Brighton, Hove and the downland villages
Planning
No annexe-specific guidance that we could find. Its planning permission page and householder checklist are the place to start.
Council tax
We could not find a Brighton and Hove page on annexes and council tax. The national rules below apply; ask its council tax team how to claim.
Eastbourne Borough Council and Lewes District Council
Covers Eastbourne, Lewes, Newhaven, Seaford and Peacehaven (the two councils share one website)
Planning
Their joint website has a page on adding an annexe to your home, covering planning and council tax together. It refuses automated requests, so open it in a browser.
Council tax
Annexe exemptions are listed on the council tax exemptions page.
Hastings Borough Council
Covers Hastings and St Leonards
Planning
Using a house, or a building in its garden, as an annexe does not need planning permission if the annexe stays connected to the main house, for example lived in by family. Building an extension or outbuilding for it may need permission, and you cannot rent out or sell the annexe separately without permission. Check earlier permissions on the house for conditions.
Council tax
Has a page on the 50% family annexe discount.
Rother District Council
Covers Bexhill, Battle, Rye and the villages
Planning
Rother says annexes will generally need planning permission. A new building in the garden cannot be put up as an annexe under permitted development, even if it meets the other rules for outbuildings, though some existing buildings can be converted without permission. If you are unsure, a certificate of lawful proposed use confirms it formally.
Council tax
The annexe must be in the grounds and the title deeds of the main house. A single adult in the annexe can get the 25% single person discount and the 50% annexe discount together.
Wealden District Council
Covers Crowborough, Uckfield, Hailsham, Heathfield and Polegate
Planning
No annexe-specific page that we could read in full. Start with its planning advice pages.
Council tax
Lists the exemption for an annexe lived in by an elderly or disabled relative and for an empty annexe that cannot be let separately.
For the national picture, our guide to planning permission for a granny annexe explains when permission is needed.
Council tax
How council tax works on an annexe
The Valuation Office usually gives an annexe with its own kitchen, bathroom and entrance a council tax band of its own. What you then pay on it depends on who lives there.
| Who this means | What you pay on the annexe | |
|---|---|---|
| A dependent relative lives in the annexe as their main home | Aged 65 or over, or substantially and permanently disabled, or severely mentally impaired | Nothing. The annexe is exempt |
| Another relative lives in it as their main home | Includes parents, grandparents, children, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles | Half. A 50% discount, on top of any other discount |
| The household uses it as part of the main home | For example as a spare bedroom or sitting room | Half. A 50% discount |
| It stands empty and cannot be let on its own | Because a planning condition ties it to the main house | Nothing while it stays empty |
A dependent relative lives in the annexe as their main home
- Who this means
- Aged 65 or over, or substantially and permanently disabled, or severely mentally impaired
- What you pay on the annexe
- Nothing. The annexe is exempt
Another relative lives in it as their main home
- Who this means
- Includes parents, grandparents, children, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles
- What you pay on the annexe
- Half. A 50% discount, on top of any other discount
The household uses it as part of the main home
- Who this means
- For example as a spare bedroom or sitting room
- What you pay on the annexe
- Half. A 50% discount
It stands empty and cannot be let on its own
- Who this means
- Because a planning condition ties it to the main house
- What you pay on the annexe
- Nothing while it stays empty
The 50% discount comes from the Council Tax (Reductions for Annexes) (England) Regulations 2013. You have to apply to the council; it is not added automatically.
You can check whether an annexe already has its own band on the GOV.UK council tax band checker. Our guide to council tax on a granny annexe explains each case in detail, including the evidence councils ask for.
Before you make an offer
What to check on a house with an annexe
An annexe changes what a house is worth to you, so check the paperwork and the practical details before you make an offer, not after.
The planning permission and its conditions
That it was built with permission
How it is banded for council tax
That it is on the same title
That it works for your parent now and later
Room for help when it is needed
If you are buying with your parent, our guide to buying a house with an elderly parent covers the money and the legal side.
If care is needed
What care in the annexe costs
A house with an annexe lets you live close by while your parent keeps a front door of their own. If your parent needs more help than you can give, care can come to the annexe, from a few hours a week to a carer living in.
| On PrimeCarers | Through an agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly visits | £18 to £25 an hour, with our fee included | £28 to £35 an hour |
| Live-in care | From £1,050 a week, typically £1,120 | Around £1,400 a week |
Hourly visits
- On PrimeCarers
- £18 to £25 an hour, with our fee included
- Through an agency
- £28 to £35 an hour
Live-in care
- On PrimeCarers
- From £1,050 a week, typically £1,120
- Through an agency
- Around £1,400 a week
Figures are what families pay on PrimeCarers with our fee included. Agency figures are the typical range for the same care, for comparison.
For local figures, see what live-in care costs in East Sussex. A live-in carer moves into a spare room in the home, so if the annexe has one bedroom, the carer can sleep in the main house close by; our guide to preparing the room for a live-in carer covers what they need. Our guide to care in a granny annexe covers how hourly and live-in care work there.
PrimeCarers is an introductory service, not a care agency. You search the profiles of self-employed carers near the house, message the ones who suit your parent, and choose who to book. Every carer has passed an ID check, a right to work check and an enhanced DBS check (PVG in Scotland) issued within the last two years, and an online interview. We do not check qualifications, training or references, and the reviews and references on a profile are not verified by us, so ask each carer about the experience your parent needs. When you are ready, you can find a carer near the house.
Questions
Questions about annexes in East Sussex
None of the big portals has a tick box for an annexe, so the searches on this page put the word into the keyword search for you. Use the links for all of East Sussex on Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and PrimeLocation, then the links for each town. Try the other spellings as well (annex, granny flat, self contained), because the search only finds the words the agent used. On Rightmove, sort the results by keyword so the matching homes come first.
Only if the Valuation Office has given it a band of its own. If it has, the annexe pays nothing when a dependent relative lives in it (someone aged 65 or over, or substantially and permanently disabled, or severely mentally impaired), and half when another relative lives there or the household uses it as part of the main home. You claim from the council for the town the house is in, and each East Sussex council's page is linked above.
A new building in the garden that someone will live in usually does. Councils such as Rother, Hastings and North Somerset explain where the line falls, and the council-by-council list above links each council's own guidance. If you are buying a house that already has an annexe, ask to see its planning permission and any conditions on it, because those decide who may live there and whether it can ever be let or sold on its own.
Yes, if there is a spare bedroom for them, in the annexe or in the main house. A live-in carer moves into a spare room in the home where they are caring, so an annexe with one bedroom works when the carer can sleep in the main house close by. If you plan to build or extend an annexe with a room for a carer, explain why in the planning application and ask the council how it will look at it.
On PrimeCarers, hourly visits cost £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, against £28 to £35 an hour through an agency. Live-in care starts at £1,050 a week and is typically £1,120. The local cost pages linked above show what carers near you advertise.