Do I Need Planning Permission? How to Check Your Project

What needs planning permission

Planning permission is only needed for work that counts as development in law. The government's planning guidance explains that this includes:

• building work, such as structural alterations, building and rebuilding, and most demolition;
• engineering work, such as groundworks;
• a material change in how land or a building is used;
• dividing a house into two or more separate homes.

It also lists what isn't development, and so never needs planning permission:

• alterations to the inside of a building;
• work that doesn't materially affect how the outside looks;
• a change of use within the same use class.

All development needs planning permission, but not always from your council. Permitted development is permission granted nationally, so you don't apply for it. Its limits, project by project, are in our permitted development guide.

Common projects at a glance

For a house in England, outside protected areas and with its rights intact:

• Extensions: often permitted development within limits on depth, height and position. Anything in front of the house isn't covered, and two-storey extensions have tighter limits. See house extension costs, which has a size checker.
• Loft conversions: rooflights, or a rear dormer within the volume limits, are usually permitted development. See loft conversion costs.
• Garden rooms, sheds and offices: usually permitted development for single-storey buildings used with the house, but not for a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or separate home. See garden room costs.
• Driveways: a front driveway over 5m² needs to be porous or drain into the garden, and a dropped kerb needs the highway authority's approval. See driveway costs.
• Fences, walls and gates: up to 2m high, or 1m next to a road used by vehicles.
• Inside only (knocking through, a new kitchen or bathroom): no planning permission, though building regulations usually apply to removing a wall.
• Splitting into flats, or a new house in the garden: a planning application, as a rule.

A flat or maisonette has no permitted development, so most outside changes need permission. In a conservation area, National Park, area of outstanding natural beauty, the Broads or a World Heritage Site, the permitted limits are tighter.

Other permissions that can apply

No planning application doesn't mean no paperwork. The government's guidance lists other consents that can be needed, including building regulations approval, listed building consent and consent for work to protected trees.

Restrictive covenants in your deeds are separate again: the guidance says land ownership and covenants aren't a planning matter, so a solicitor is the person to ask.

How to check before you start

The Planning Portal puts it plainly: it's the property owner's responsibility to get planning permission. The ways to be sure:

• Ask your council's planning team. It's the first port of call for any planning question. Some councils charge for advice before you apply.
• Check for anything that removes your rights: an article 4 direction, or a condition on your house's original planning permission.
• Apply for a lawful development certificate. It isn't planning permission, but it's proof that the work is lawful, which the Planning Portal suggests for peace of mind when it isn't clear-cut.

We'd do one of these before paying for drawings or booking a builder for anything near the limits.

If you do need permission

You apply to your council and usually pay a fee when you submit (the current householder fee is on our house extension cost page). GOV.UK says the council decides against its development plan, looking at things like the size, layout and appearance of the work, its use and its effect on the area.

• How long: most applications are decided within 8 weeks, or 13 weeks if they're unusually large or complex.
• If it's refused: GOV.UK suggests trying to agree changes with the council first. You can appeal a refusal, conditions you object to, or a decision that wasn't made in time, but appeals can take several months.

What happens if you build without it

Building without permission you needed is a planning breach. The Planning Portal says a breach isn't illegal in itself, and councils often accept a retrospective application, though it isn't guaranteed to be approved.

• If the retrospective application is refused, or the work was refused before, the council can serve an enforcement notice requiring you to undo it.
• Ignoring an enforcement notice is illegal, and you can be prosecuted. You can appeal against one.
• The council has 10 years from completion to act, for anything completed from 25 April 2024 onwards.

Our view: check before you build, not after, when the work is already paid for and the only way back is to undo it.

Frequently asked questions