8 Things You Can Do Without Planning Permission

Garages can generally be built in your garden or on the land around your house, without the need for planning permission.

However, Building Regulations approval is needed for the construction of a garage attached to an existing home, as well as converting a garage into habitable use. Read more here.

Conservatories fall under the same restrictions as any other extension.

They tend to be modest in size and therefore, planning permission isn’t needed.

You must check that you meet Building Regulations and certain planning conditions, including:

• Conservatories must not exceed 50% of the total area of land around the house 
• Side conservatories must not have a width greater than half the width of the original house. They must also be single storey with a maximum height of 4m 

See the full list of limits and conditions that apply to conservatories here. 

Create more useable space in a house with a loft conversion. 

If you’re simply converting it to living spaces then planning permission is not needed. 

If you’re extending the roof space, then planning permission does apply. 

Please check your local authority for guidelines. 

Roof windows are great for letting natural light flood a room and can really help a space feel warmer and brighter.

You don’t need planning permission to install roof windows if:

• The new window is no higher than the highest part of the roof
• It does not protrude more than 150mm beyond the plane of the roof slope

Building Regulations do apply though, so check these out here.

If you’re renovating a house then any repairs, maintenance or minor improvements you make to the windows and door frames, don’t require planning permission. 

The same goes for the insertion of new windows and doors, as long as the appearance of the house isn’t materially altered as a result of the change. 

The only time where you might require planning permission is if you’re inserting a new bay window, as this is treated as an extension.

Reduce carbon footprint with the installation of roof-mounted solar panels.

Thankfully, planning permission is not needed as it falls under Permitted Development, although there are important limits and conditions that must be met. However, Building Regulations approval might be needed so make sure you check this out before you start.

Our Elliotts Premier Roofing team can help you out. Get in touch with them today.

You can build a porch on the front of a property as it falls under permitted development. However, planning permission applies if:

• You're building a porch with a ground area (measured externally) of more than 3 square metres
• It's higher than 3 metres above ground level (height needs to be measured in the same way as for a house extension)
• It's less than 2 metres away from the boundary of a dwellinghouse with a highway (which includes all public roads, footpaths, bridleways and byways)

You can often extend or add to your house without the need to apply for planning permission, provided you meet a set of limits and conditions. 

This criteria applies largely to: 

• The dimensions of your proposed extension 
• The position on the house 
• The proximity to your boundaries 

Planning permission is needed if more than half the area of land around the 'original house' would be covered by additions or other buildings.

Still not sure? Check out more information here.