Free tool

What planning permission or consent does your project need?

Which planning permission or consent a type of project needs, the council's fee, the statutory determination period and what to submit, for owners and buyers.

Do you own the property, or are you thinking of buying it?

If you are buying, the result adds what to ask before you exchange contracts.

What type of property is it?

Householder permitted development rights, the rights to extend or alter without a planning application, belong to houses only.

Why this matters
The rights are in the General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1. Article 2(1) says a dwellinghouse does not include a building containing one or more flats, or a flat within one, so flats and maisonettes do not have them.
What type of project is it?
Why this matters
Each type of project has its own route. A small house in multiple occupation is a shared house for 3 to 6 people, use class C4; changing a house to one is permitted development under Part 3, Class L, unless an Article 4 direction removes the right. A change of use to a home can be permitted development under Part 3 with the council's prior approval, if the building and its use qualify.
Is it within the permitted development limits?

Permitted development is building work that needs no planning application because it stays within set limits of size and position. Not sure? The permitted development checker tests the exact size.

Why this matters
The limits are in the General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1: Class A for extensions, Class B for roof extensions and Class E for outbuildings. A project that breaks any one limit of its Class is not permitted development.
Is it in a conservation area, a National Landscape, a National Park, the Broads or a World Heritage Site?

These are article 2(3) land, where permitted development is narrower. Not sure? The planning constraints checker looks it up from your postcode.

Why this matters
The rules call these areas article 2(3) land (the General Permitted Development Order 2015, article 2(3) and Schedule 1, Part 1). A National Landscape is the new name for an area of outstanding natural beauty, the term the rules still use.
Is it a listed building?

A listed building is on the National Heritage List for England. Not sure? The planning constraints checker lists the listed buildings near your postcode.

Why this matters
A listed building is on the national list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. Any work that affects its character, inside or out, needs listed building consent, whatever the planning answer (Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 7).
Have permitted development rights been removed?

Councils remove them with an Article 4 direction covering an area, or with a condition on an earlier planning permission for the house. The planning history and the council's website show them.

Why this matters
An Article 4 direction removes named permitted development rights in an area or for a site (article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015). A condition on a planning permission can remove them for that property.

About this tool

Describe the property and the type of project. The route finder says which route to permission is likely: permitted development, prior approval, a householder or full planning application, or listed building consent, with the council's fee, the statutory determination period and the usual submission requirements. It works from the type of project. To test the exact size of an extension, loft conversion or outbuilding against the permitted development limits, use the permitted development checker.

Jurisdiction
England
Law checked
29 September 2026
Tool version
1.1

Made and maintained by Parallel Architecture, a director-led architectural design practice working from Bristol and Brighton. Each rule is checked against the legislation itself and cited where it is applied. How we write the guides and tools.

General guidance on the law in England from the answers you enter, not advice on your project. Website terms.

What this route finder is doing

  1. It sorts the work into the route the law gives it: permitted development, needing no planning application, within the national limits; prior approval, a short application asking the council to approve set details first; a householder planning application; a full planning application; or listed building consent (General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2).
  2. It applies what you tell it about the property. A protected area, such as a conservation area, is article 2(3) land, where permitted development is narrower. A listed building also needs listed building consent. The council can remove permitted development rights with an Article 4 direction or a planning condition.
  3. It adds the council's fee from 1 April 2026, and the statutory determination period, the time the law gives the council to decide.
  4. It lists the drawings and documents that route usually needs, and the risks to check first.
  5. It works from the type of project, not its exact size. To test an extension, loft conversion or outbuilding against the permitted development limits, use the permitted development checker.
  6. It never predicts whether a council will approve something. That depends on the site, local planning policy and the design, which is where a person comes in.

Key rules

  • Permitted development is planning permission granted in advance by the General Permitted Development Order 2015 for the classes of work in Schedule 2, so there is no application to make (GPDO 2015, article 3).
  • Householder permitted development rights belong to houses; a flat, or a building containing flats, does not have them (GPDO 2015, article 2(1) and Schedule 2, Part 1).
  • A householder planning application for one house costs £548 in England from 1 April 2026 (Fees Regulations 2012, as indexed).
  • A householder planning application has a statutory determination period of eight weeks from receipt of a valid application (Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34(2)(b)).
  • Prior approval for a larger home extension or for additional storeys costs £249 from 1 April 2026 (Fees Regulations 2012, as indexed).
  • A larger home extension may go ahead if the council has not responded within 42 days (GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, paragraph A.4(10)(c)).
  • Additional storeys under Class AA may not start until prior approval is given in writing (GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, paragraph AA.3(13)).
  • A lawful development certificate for proposed householder work costs £274, half the application fee, and the council has eight weeks to decide (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 192; Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 39(10)).
  • Listed building consent has no fee, and the council has eight weeks to decide (Listed Buildings Regulations 1990, regulation 3(6)).
  • Work that affects only the interior of a building is not development and needs no planning permission, though a listed building may still need listed building consent (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55(2)(a)).
  • Dividing a house into two or more homes is a material change of use, which is development and needs planning permission (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55).
  • Changing a house to a small house in multiple occupation, for 3 to 6 people, is permitted development unless an Article 4 direction removes the right (GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 3, Class L).
  • An application is valid only with the right forms, plans, ownership certificate, anything on the council's local list and the fee, and the statutory period runs only from then (Development Management Procedure Order 2015, articles 14 and 34(4)).

Sources: the Acts, Orders and Regulations named, and this site's guides to planning fees and timescales, permitted development and lawful development certificates.

Related guides