Do I need planning permission?
Often not. Many projects on a home in England, such as fences, garden rooms, small extensions and heat pumps, are "permitted development": you can build without applying, as long as you stay within set limits and nothing has removed your rights. Check your project against those limits, one rule at a time, with the law's own words behind every limit.
See the conservation areas, Article 4 directions, listed buildings and other restrictions published for your postcode. Your postcode stays in your browser.
The checkers
- Fence, wall and gate height checkerHow high a fence, wall or gate can be: next to a road or not, on a slope, with trellis on top.
- Garden room and outbuilding checkerHeight near the boundary, roof shape, eaves, how much of the garden it covers, and use.
- Rear and side extension checkerSingle and two-storey, the larger home extension route, eaves near a boundary.
- Heat pump checkerAir, ground and water source, including the May 2025 changes.
- Loft and dormer checkerThe volume allowance, front roof slopes, side windows and set-backs.
- What planning restrictions apply to my address?Every restriction published for your postcode, with a map, and what it means for each project.
How it works
Every limit on this site is quoted from the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, with the clause and the date we checked it. Where the law uses a judgement word, such as "adjacent to a highway", we explain it with the official guidance and how planning inspectors have read it, and mark it for you to check, rather than pretend to measure it.
Planning permission questions
What is permitted development?
Building work you can do without applying for planning permission, because the law grants permission for it in advance, within set limits. In England the law is the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.
When do I definitely need planning permission?
When your project goes over a permitted development limit, when a planning condition on your house or an Article 4 direction has removed the rights, and for many projects when your house is listed. Flats and maisonettes don't have the householder rights for extensions, lofts and outbuildings.
What is a Lawful Development Certificate?
A certificate from your council confirming that a project is lawful without planning permission. You don't have to get one, but it is the only way to be certain.
Is planning permission the same as building regulations?
No. Building regulations are a separate set of rules about safety and construction, and many permitted development projects still need building regulations approval.