Do I need planning permission?

Permitted development

Permitted development rights exist which allow for private households (but not flats or apartments) to carry out minor alterations and extensions without requiring formal planning permission; providing you meet certain requirements and stay with specific restrictions.

Please note these restrictions may differ if your house is within a Conservation Area or is a Listed Building. Previous planning permissions which relate to your property may also contain conditions that restrict your ability to exercise permitted development rights. 

For the current guidance and help on permitted development you should check the Planning Portal website which also offers helpful interactive advice on permitted developments and common projects around the home.

However, please note separate approval under building regulations or listed building consent may be required even where planning permission is not required.

Pre-App Advice

Pre-application advice is a way of finding out whether a specific proposed development would be likely to be acceptable and what the key issues will be before the submission of a formal application. For further information go to Pre-Application Advice.

Certificate of Proposed Lawful Use

For written confirmation as to whether you would need planning permission it is recommended that you submit an application for a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC). 

This will provide a formal determination that your proposed development is lawful (does not require planning permission), something which may come in useful if you intend to sell your property in the future. 

The fee for this application is half the fee that a planning application for the same development would attract.

• Fee for most householder applications is £172
• Fee for an equivalent LDC would be £86

Because this is a statutory process, it is likely to take up to 8 weeks

Unauthorised Works

If you build something which needs planning permission without obtaining permission first, you may be forced to make changes later. This could prove problematic and sometimes costly and may even result in legal action to require removal of the unauthorised works.