The short answer
- The portals have no annexe filterThe links below put "annexe" into each site's keyword search for Kent 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 Kent
Each link opens a property site's search for Kent, 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 Kent, 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”
- CanterburyRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- MaidstoneRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- Tunbridge WellsRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- AshfordRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- SevenoaksRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
- FolkestoneRightmoveZooplaOnTheMarket
What the councils say
What Kent's councils say about annexes
Kent County Council does not decide planning applications for houses or collect council tax. Both sit with the twelve district and borough councils and with Medway Council, so the council that matters is the one for the town the house is in. Most of them publish a council tax page that covers annexes. Fewer publish anything on annexe planning, and where they do not, we say so below.
Ashford Borough Council
Covers Ashford, Tenterden and the villages around them
Planning
Ashford's guidance note on garages and outbuildings says a detached building with its own kitchen and bathroom for use as an annexe needs planning permission and is unlikely to be approved, and that annexes should be built as an extension attached to the house. The note was written under the council's 2000 local plan, so ask the council how it applies to a proposal today.
Canterbury City Council
Covers Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay
Planning
We could not find annexe-specific planning guidance from Canterbury. Start with its planning pages and its pre-application advice.
Council tax
Its discounts and exemptions page covers the 50% annexe discount and the exemptions for annexes.
Dartford Borough Council
Covers Dartford, Swanscombe, Greenhithe and Ebbsfleet
Planning
Dartford charges the Community Infrastructure Levy on new building, and a new annexe can be liable for it. Its guidance says residential annexes can be exempt, but the exemption has to be applied for and granted before work starts, and it can be clawed back for three years after the annexe is finished.
Council tax
Lists the exemption for an annexe lived in by a dependent relative.
Dover District Council
Covers Dover, Deal and Sandwich
Planning
No annexe-specific planning guidance that we could find. Its "do I need permission" page is the place to start.
Folkestone and Hythe District Council
Covers Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh
Council tax
Lists the occupied annexe discount among its other discounts.
Gravesham Borough Council
Covers Gravesend and the villages to the south
Planning
No annexe-specific planning guidance that we could find; its supplementary guidance is listed here.
Council tax
Has a page on annexes, including how the 50% annexe discount can sit alongside the single person discount.
Maidstone Borough Council
Covers Maidstone and the villages around it
Planning
No annexe-specific page that we could read. Its planning pages refuse automated requests, so check them in a browser.
Council tax
Its council tax notes include the annexe discount.
Medway Council
Covers Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and the Hoo peninsula
Planning
No annexe-specific planning guidance that we could find.
Council tax
Covers the exemption for an annexe lived in by a dependent relative and the other annexe reductions.
Sevenoaks District Council
Covers Sevenoaks, Swanley, Edenbridge and Westerham
Council tax
Its council tax reductions page lists an annexe reduction.
Swale Borough Council
Covers Sittingbourne, Faversham and the Isle of Sheppey
Council tax
Its exemptions page covers annexes. The page refuses automated requests, so open it in a browser.
Thanet District Council
Covers Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs
Council tax
Sets out the dependent relative exemption, the empty annexe exemption and the 50% discount.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
Covers Tonbridge, West Malling and Snodland
Council tax
Lists the exemption for an annexe lived in by a dependent relative.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Covers Royal Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood and Cranbrook
Planning
No annexe-specific page that we could read. Its site refuses automated requests, so check it in a browser.
Council tax
Its pages on reducing your bill cover annexes. The site refuses automated requests, so open it in a browser.
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 Kent. 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 Kent
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 Kent 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 Kent 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.