Do You Need Planning Permission? Take a Look Inside the Planning Portal's Interactive House
Thinking about extending your home, converting your loft, putting up a garden room or making changes to your property? One of the first questions you'll probably ask is: Do I need planning permission?
The good news is that there is a really useful free online resource that can help you find out.
The Planning Portal's Interactive House is a visual guide designed to help homeowners understand what they can and cannot do under permitted development rights.
What is the Interactive House?
Rather than working your way through pages of planning legislation, the Interactive House allows you to explore an illustrated typical UK home.
You can select different parts of the property, including the roof, windows, doors, external walls and garden, to find out what planning rules might apply to the changes you are considering.
It's a particularly useful starting point if you're unsure whether your proposed improvements need a planning application or might be covered by permitted development rights.
What can you explore?
The Interactive House covers a wide range of common home improvement projects, including:
Extensions and conservatories: Understand the rules around extending your home.
Loft conversions: Find out when converting your loft may fall within permitted development.
Roof alterations: Explore the rules around rooflights and other changes.
Windows and doors: Check the guidance on replacing or altering windows and doors.
Garden buildings: Find out about sheds, garages, summerhouses and garden rooms.
Fences and garden walls: Understand the rules around boundary treatments.
Driveways and patios: Explore the requirements for hardstanding and other external works.
There is also guidance on decking, solar and energy-related improvements and other common household projects.
Prefer a more detailed guide?
The Planning Portal also provides a series of Mini Guides covering some of the most popular home improvement projects.
These include:
Single-storey extensions
Two-storey extensions
Loft conversions
Conservatories
Outbuildings
Porches
Accessible adaptations
The guides use illustrations and straightforward explanations to help you understand the relevant planning rules and restrictions.
You can find them here:
Explore the Planning Portal Mini Guides
Home improvement project-specific Mini Guides
A word of caution: Permitted development doesn't apply to every property
While the Interactive House is an excellent starting point, it's important to remember that permitted development rights come with conditions and limitations.
For example:
Your property may be in a conservation area or another designated area.
Your permitted development rights may have been removed through an Article 4 Direction or a planning condition.
Listed buildings have additional consent requirements.
Flats and maisonettes generally do not benefit from the same permitted development rights as houses.
Previous extensions or alterations may affect what you can build next.
The rules can be more complicated than they initially appear, and simply finding a project on the Interactive House doesn't automatically mean you can proceed without permission.
It's also worth remembering that permitted development and building regulations are two separate things. Even where planning permission isn't required, building regulations approval may still be necessary.
Need a little more certainty?
If you've explored the Interactive House but aren't quite sure how the rules apply to your property or proposed project, that's where professional planning advice can help.
At Kippen Ash, we help homeowners understand their planning options, assess development potential and navigate the planning process.
Whether you're considering an extension, purchasing a property with potential, converting an outbuilding or simply want to understand what you can do with your home, getting the right advice early can save time, money and unnecessary complications.
Useful links:
Planning Portal – Interactive House
Planning Portal – Mini Guides
Planning guidance is subject to change. The Interactive House provides general guidance for England and should not be treated as confirmation that a particular project benefits from permitted development rights.