Do I need planning permission?Free planning permission and permitted development checker for any address in England

Not for many home projects. Most houses in England have permitted development rights, which allow single-storey rear extensions, loft conversions, porches, garden rooms and more without applying, within set limits. You need planning permission if the project goes beyond those limits, or if your rights have been removed — by a conservation area, an Article 4 direction, a listed building, or because the property is a flat.

Enter your postcode or address in the checker. It looks up the planning restrictions that apply to the property — conservation areas, Article 4 directions, listed buildings, National Landscapes — and shows which projects you can build without applying and the limits for each. For a formal answer, apply to your council for a Lawful Development Certificate.

Check three things: whether the property is a house (flats and maisonettes don’t have householder rights), whether it’s affected by a conservation area, Article 4 direction or listing, and whether the original planning permission removed them by condition. The free check covers the first two for any address in England; conditions are on your council’s planning register.

Most houses in England do. They’re removed or reduced for flats and maisonettes, listed buildings, homes in conservation areas or National Landscapes, where an Article 4 direction applies, and sometimes by a condition on the original planning permission. The free check shows every one we can see for your address.

A single-storey rear extension can go 3 m deep on a semi or terrace and 4 m on a detached house. Outside conservation areas and National Landscapes, the larger home extension scheme doubles that to 6 m and 8 m — but you must notify the council first (prior approval).

They can be removed by an Article 4 direction, which we check, or by a condition on the planning permission for your house, which isn’t in any national dataset. Newer estates often have conditions removing rights — your council’s planning register will show them.

Not legally — but it is the only formal confirmation that work is permitted development, and buyers’ solicitors increasingly ask for one. For anything expensive or close to a limit, it’s worth the council fee.

A light-touch process for larger rear extensions (up to 6 m or 8 m). You notify the council, neighbours are consulted, and the council has 42 days to object on amenity grounds. It isn’t available in conservation areas, National Parks, National Landscapes or World Heritage Sites.

Yes, but with less. Side extensions, two-storey rear extensions, dormer loft conversions and external cladding all need planning permission, and outbuildings can’t go beside the house. Single-storey rear extensions and porches are still permitted within the normal limits.

Flats and maisonettes don’t have householder permitted development rights, so almost all external work needs planning permission. Set the house type to “Flat” on your result to see what still applies.

No. It reads the same national planning datasets councils publish, but coverage varies and some restrictions (like planning conditions) aren’t published anywhere. Treat it as a first check, not a guarantee.