Are you allowed to sleep in your hobby room or set up an office there? Find out what is legally permitted, how to avoid trouble with neighbours and how to get the most out of your space.
A hobby room offers valuable space for creativity, sports or work. But be careful: legally speaking, it is not living space. While crafts, fitness and quiet work are usually no problem, permanent sleeping or setting up a commercial workshop is often prohibited. In this article, you will learn where the boundaries lie and how to get the most out of your extra square metres.
Perhaps you are familiar with this situation: your flat suddenly feels cramped, the drum kit is in the way or the yoga mat has to be laboriously rolled out between the sofa and the dining table every time. A hobby room seems to be the perfect solution. It promises freedom, peace and the necessary space for passions that cannot be accommodated within your own four walls. But before you move into your new realm, you should know that a hobby room is not a free pass for any use. There are clear rules that determine whether your retreat remains a dream or becomes a legal nightmare.
In the real estate sector, hobby rooms are usually found in basements or attics. The decisive factor is the legal designation. In most cases, a hobby room is declared as non-residential space. There are valid reasons for this: often, the minimum heights required for residential spaces, sufficient thermal insulation or the necessary window areas for daylight and ventilation are missing.
If you rent or buy such a room, you usually pay a significantly lower price per square metre than for the actual living space. However, this price advantage comes with obligations. You are allowed to use the room, but not to live in it. A hobby room is intended for you to spend time there. Specifically, this means that crafting, painting, exercising or sorting your stamp collection are completely legitimate activities.
Even if the room is comfortably furnished and has heating, it may not be used as a permanent bedroom. This is not only due to bureaucratic regulations, but above all for your own safety. Living spaces are subject to strict fire safety regulations and must guarantee escape routes (often via windows of a certain size). A basement room without a proper window usually does not meet these requirements. Anyone who regularly allows guests to stay there or even moves in themselves risks serious trouble with the authorities or insurance company in the event of an inspection or damage.
In times of remote work, many people ask themselves: Can I move my office to the hobby room? The answer is: it depends. If you are an employee and occasionally sit at your laptop in your hobby room for a few hours, hardly anyone will object. This is ‘quiet use’ that does not place excessive strain on the building structure or disturb the neighbours.
The situation is different if you register a business there or spend eight hours a day there. Similar requirements apply to a permanent workplace as to living spaces – especially with regard to light and ventilation. In addition, intensive commercial use (e.g. with customer traffic) may require a change of use, which must be approved by the management and often also by the local authority.
A hobby room is rarely located in a vacuum. There are usually other people in the immediate vicinity. This is where many hobby projects fail. Just because it is a hobby room does not mean that you can make unlimited noise there.
Anyone setting up a carpentry workshop or starting a rock band must observe the applicable quiet hours and sound insulation requirements. The same applies to odours: if you are passionate about working with paints or building models, you must ensure that the fumes do not spread throughout the entire stairwell. Good ventilation is essential here – both for neighbourly peace and for your own health, as basement rooms are often poorly ventilated and prone to damp.
Before signing the contract, you should critically examine the space. Does your vision match the reality of the space?
First, you should check the humidity. Does it smell musty? Are there dark spots on the walls? In many basements, the humidity is too high for storing sensitive items such as books or fabrics. A hygrometer can provide certainty here.
Secondly, the power supply is important. Are there enough sockets for your devices? If you want to operate heavy machinery or multiple computers, the fuse protection should be adequate. Thirdly, you should check the internet connection. In reinforced concrete basements, Wi-Fi often fails miserably. A LAN connection or a good repeater are indispensable for many hobbies today.
A hobby room is a great way to improve your quality of life without having to move to a more expensive flat. It provides the necessary buffer between everyday life and your passion. If you follow the rules – i.e. don't use the room for living in and be considerate of your surroundings – nothing stands in the way of your project.
Hobby rooms are incubators for creativity. Whether as a private gym, a studio or a retreat for reading: exploit the potential, but stay within the bounds of what is legally permissible. That way, your hobby room will remain exactly what it should be: a place that brings you joy.
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