An annexe raises questions about council tax, utilities, the title and who occupies it. This sets out what one provider publishes across its own four products, how far those differ from each other, and what you can establish yourself before anyone visits.
An annexe is not a refusal. It is a set of questions about title, council tax, utilities and who lives there, and most of them you can answer yourself this afternoon.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
These are Pure Retirement’s own published rules for its four lifetime mortgages, opened on 6 September 2026. They are one provider’s criteria on one date, quoted as an example of how such rules are written. They are not a market standard and they are not evidence of what any other lender would do.
“We are guided by the surveyor as to whether or not they consider a space an annexe or not.”
Pure Retirement, 10 December 2025
“Acceptable - subject to the annex being occupied by friends or family members, being suited to the property”
The article adds that those occupants must have signed a deed of consent.
“Acceptable - subject to the annex being occupied by family or carers, being suited to the property”
The article adds that where the annexe is attached to the main property there must be internal access.
“Acceptable - subject to being suited to the property and a maximum of 2 units in total and internal access to the main residence”
This is the one that puts a number on it: two units in total, and internal access.
“Can be considered - subject to annex or self-contained accommodation being occupied by relatives or carers or max 2 lodgers/Airbnb occupiers”
The only one of the four that contemplates letting at all, and the article notes annexes may be let to a maximum of two occupiers subject to further review.
Read those four side by side and the point makes itself. The same annexe, in the same house, on the same day, is acceptable on one of these and outside the criteria on another. That is the answer to “can I get equity release with an annexe?” and it is why an adviser with the whole market is the person to ask.
Three things run through all four products. They are also the three you can establish yourself, today, without speaking to anybody. An annexe is defined in that article as “a secondary living space attached to or within the grounds of a main residential property”.
“The annex must be on the same council tax as the main property”
Look at your bill. A separately banded annexe is the single most common reason this becomes complicated, and it is something you can establish in two minutes without ringing anybody.
“Share all utilities”
One gas, electricity and water supply between the two, rather than the annexe having its own meters and accounts.
Anybody over 17 living in the annexe signs one. It is a document confirming they understand they have no right to stay on after the plan ends, and it is normal rather than ominous. Expect it to be asked for.
Self-contained means “its own kitchen, bathroom, separate entrance”. Where all three are present a valuer may treat the property as more than one unit, and that can affect both the valuation and the maximum loan to value rather than simply being a yes or a no.
Almost all of this is in a drawer or on a bill. Somebody who arrives at an adviser able to say “same council tax band, shared meters, my mother lives there, and yes there is a door through from the kitchen” has answered most of the published criteria before anyone asks.
Equity release requires repaying any existing mortgage. Money released, plus accrued interest, would need to be repaid upon death or moving into long-term care.
Whether your annexe would be accepted, by whom, or on what terms. Whether it counts as an annexe at all, which Pure Retirement says in terms is the surveyor’s call. And nothing at all about changing your property or ending an arrangement with somebody living in it: that would be advice, and it could easily be wrong for the product you end up on.
Take these to an adviser. The first one is the whole point of the page: the answer depends on the product, so it needs somebody who can see all of them.
Which lenders and which of their products would consider my annexe as it is?
The right question, and it has to go to somebody with the whole market in front of them. One lender can have four answers.
Does my annexe have its own council tax band, and does that rule anything out?
Establish the fact yourself first, then ask what it means. It is the criterion every product in the evidence shares.
Would the person living in the annexe need to sign a deed of consent?
Almost certainly yes, and it is worth them knowing early. It is a normal part of the process, not a sign of a problem.
Is the annexe likely to be treated as a separate unit, and what would that change?
Ask about the effect on the valuation and the maximum, not just about acceptance. It can move the amount rather than stopping the plan.
If somebody is renting the annexe, what are my options?
Letting is where the products diverge most. Do not end a tenancy on the strength of a web page: ask first.
Short answers to the things that come up most. None of it is advice, and every figure on this page carries its source.
One provider describes it as a secondary living space attached to or within the grounds of a main residential property, and adds that they are guided by the surveyor as to whether or not they consider a space an annexe.
Council tax banding. One published criterion is that the annexe must be on the same council tax as the main property. A separately banded annexe is the most common reason this becomes complicated, and it is something you can establish in two minutes by looking at your bill.
More than anything else. The published criteria across four products turn on occupation: friends or family, family or associated carers, and on one product relatives, carers or up to two lodgers. Only one of the four contemplates letting at all.
A document signed by anybody over 17 living in the annexe, confirming they understand they have no right to stay on after the plan ends. It is normal rather than ominous, and worth expecting.
Not automatically. Where its own kitchen, bathroom and separate entrance are all present, a valuer may treat the property as more than one unit, and that can affect both the valuation and the maximum loan to value rather than simply being a yes or a no.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
One qualified equity release adviser. They will go through your figures and tell you if there is a better answer. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Vimeo. Say no and none of them loads. What each one stores, and what Microsoft use theirs for.