Do I need planning permission?

Are you thinking of altering or extending your house? In some circumstances you may not need planning permission, but it is best to check first.

Permitted development (PD)

Certain works (such as installing rooflights or adding a porch) do not necessarily need planning permission, provided the works comply with the rules set out by national planning legislation – the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (as amended in 2008).

These rules apply to most homes, but not flats and apartments (planning permission is likely to be required for external alterations and extensions to flats and apartments). They allow homeowners to carry out certain alterations and extensions to their property subject to some conditions and restrictions.

For example, if your proposed extension meets with all of criteria set out in the Order you do not need to apply for planning permission. However, if your proposed extension does not meet all of the criteria you will need planning permission and will need to submit an application to us.

If you know your proposal needs planning permission and would like a planning officer’s opinion on whether you are likely to get permission, please see our page about Pre-application planning advice.

How to get advice

You have three options:

• you can get free advice from the government's planning portal website
• you can get an informal written opinion from one of our planning officers for a fee of £45
• you can get a formal determination by applying for a Lawful Development Certificate from us for a fee of £75.

Option 1: Online guidance

This option is free. Visit the planning portal website Planning Portal This link will take you to an external website... to check if your proposal meets the set criteria.

If your proposed development meets with all of the relevant restrictions and conditions, then you can proceed without the need to make a planning application provided there are no restrictions affecting your property (see below). If you are at all unsure, please seek our advice. Please be aware that there may be a permitted development restriction on your property. If you are in any doubt, please contact us.

Please also be aware that if you carry out works which are not permitted development (PD) and do not have the required planning permission, we may take formal enforcement action to remove the unauthorised development.

Special restrictions apply to listed buildings. Even if the works you want to carry out do not need planning permission, they may still need Listed building consent. If you carry out works to a listed building (including some internal works) without listed building consent it is a criminal offence and may result in prosecution.

In addition, even if you do not need planning permission you may need building regulations approval, including for some internal works. Go to our Building Control pages for more information. 

Option 2: Officer's informal opinion

If you are not sure if you planning permission or not, you can ask for a planning officer's informal opinion. The charge for providing this service is £45 (including VAT). You will need to provide us with the information explained in the permitted development enquiry form (157.6 KB) . In return we will send you a letter offering a planning officer's opinion on whether planning permission is needed. We aim to respond within 15 working days of receiving your enquiry. Please be aware this is informal advice only – if you want a formal determination, then you need to look at option 3.

Option 3: Lawful Development Certificate

Option 2 is only informal advice. If you would like a formal determination on whether you need planning permission, you need to apply for a Lawful Development Certificate. The fee for this type of application is £75. This is very similar to submitting a planning application, but we only consider the proposal against the restrictions and conditions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order, rather than planning policies. This means the certificate only confirms whether or not your proposed works are permitted development. 

If you wish to apply for a certificate please see our applications forms Planning Portal This link will take you to an external website... , guidance notes This link will take you to an external website... and validation checklists This link will take you to an external website... .

These applications can take up to eight weeks to determine. However, we aim to issue a decision within four weeks of receiving the fee and registering your application. 

Although the certificate will confirm whether or not you need planning permission, you will need to check separately whether you need listed building consent or building regulations approval.