BUYING a house can be expensive, and rent in many areas has gone up to staggering amounts too.
One savvy woman shared how she decided to save money by renovating her parents’ garage into a tiny home for her and her boyfriend.
Rhiannon showed how the concrete space was bare and had some storage units along the wall before she moved in.
On her @rhiannon.paterson account, she showed how she cleaned it out and divided it up into a bedroom and living space for her and her partner.
She wrote: “POV you renovated your parents garage with your boyfriend to live in so you can save money.”;
Over 51,000 people liked her video and her money-saving idea.
After many viewers asked her for an update, she shared a follow-up video showing how they had made it into the perfect cosy home.
Rhiannon showed how she had added a dining room table to host parties and put a sofa and TV into the lounge area.
She wrote: “Very much a work in progress – especially our bedroom but loving it soooo much so far.
“I hope to return the favour to my parents one day.
“It allows us to save for a house. So grateful for this option.”;
“No one ever used the garage! Plus my parents can rent it out in the future!”;
Not only is she saving for a house but she also hopes to go travelling too with the money she would have spent on rent or a mortgage.
Fans loved the result so far, with one saying: “What beautiful transformation this is! I love when old spaces get a new lease on life!”;
Another shared: “very lucky young woman.”;
And a third commented: “Great initiative.”;
It is no wonder many people are having to get creative with housing solutions.
​As of February 2025, the average UK house price is approximately £267,500, reflecting a 1.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year. ​
Are you allowed to convert a garage into a bedroom?
USING average house price figures from Zoopla, Admiral Loans crunched the numbers and worked out that each square foot of living space is worth £350 on average.
Typically, the size of a small single garage in the UK is 128 square feet making the additional space worth £45,000.
A standard conversion costs between £4,995 and £7,500 depending on what work you have done, according to householdquotes.co.uk, which will of course eat into your profits.
If the garage is attached to your home you won't even need to pay for planning permission, which currently costs £206.
The work falls under “permitted development rules”, which allows you to make certain changes to your home as long as it's within limits.
This is because you're not really altering the outside dimensions of the building.
But you will need to apply to the local authority if your garage is separate to your house, you live in a flat or maisonette or in a listed building.
It's worth checking before starting any work that there aren't any planning conditions attached to your property – you can do this by writing to the local authority.
If you plough on with building work that actually required permission, you may be ordered to take it down.
