The short answer
- The portals have no annexe filterThe links below put "annexe" into each site's keyword search for Essex 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 Essex
Each link opens a property site's search for Essex, 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 Essex, 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”
- ChelmsfordRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- ColchesterRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- Southend-on-SeaRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- BrentwoodRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- BraintreeRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- Saffron WaldenRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
What the councils say
What Essex's councils say about annexes
Essex has fourteen councils for planning and council tax: twelve district, borough and city councils plus Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. Most publish a council tax page on annexes. Castle Point is the clearest on the building side, with a page on the levy exemption for an annexe.
Basildon Borough Council
Covers Basildon, Billericay and Wickford
Planning
No annexe-specific page that we could read. Its site refuses automated requests, so check it in a browser.
Braintree District Council
Covers Braintree, Witham and Halstead
Council tax
Has its own page on the annexe discount, with the list of relatives who count.
Brentwood Borough Council
Covers Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone
Planning
No annexe-specific planning guidance that we could find. Its pre-application advice covers householder proposals.
Castle Point Borough Council
Covers Canvey Island, Benfleet and Hadleigh
Planning
A residential annexe can be exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy if you own the main house and live in it as your only home. The claim form has to reach the council, and be decided, before building starts.
Council tax
We could not find a Castle Point page on annexes and council tax. The national rules below apply; ask its council tax team.
Chelmsford City Council
Covers Chelmsford, South Woodham Ferrers and the villages
Council tax
The exemption ends if the planning restriction changes, for example when a certificate of lawfulness is granted or the condition keeping the annexe ancillary is removed.
Colchester City Council
Covers Colchester, Wivenhoe and West Mersea
Council tax
Lists the exemption for an annexe lived in by a disabled or elderly relative.
Epping Forest District Council
Covers Epping, Loughton, Waltham Abbey and Ongar
Council tax
Has a page on the discount for an occupied annexe; it does not apply if someone outside the family lives there.
Harlow Council
Covers Harlow
Council tax
Lists the annexe exemptions among exempt properties.
Maldon District Council
Covers Maldon, Heybridge, Burnham-on-Crouch and Tollesbury
Rochford District Council
Covers Rayleigh, Rochford and Hockley
Council tax
Covers the 50% annexe discount and the exemption for an elderly or disabled relative.
Southend-on-Sea City Council
Covers Southend, Leigh-on-Sea, Westcliff and Shoeburyness
Tendring District Council
Covers Clacton, Frinton, Walton and Harwich
Thurrock Council
Covers Grays, Tilbury, Stanford-le-Hope and South Ockendon
Planning
No annexe-specific planning guidance that we could find. Its pre-application advice service lists residential annexes.
Council tax
We could not find a Thurrock page on annexes and council tax. The national rules below apply; ask its council tax team.
Uttlesford District Council
Covers Saffron Walden, Great Dunmow and Stansted Mountfitchet
Planning
No annexe-specific page that we could read. Its site refuses automated requests, so check it in a browser.
Council tax
Its occupied property exemptions page covers annexes.
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 Essex. 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 Essex
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 Essex 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 Essex 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.