Garden Room Planning Permission

Find out more about planning permission below or simply give us a call and ask for our advice on 01273 011249

Understanding Planning Permission

Most garden rooms fall under permitted development, meaning you can construct one without planning permission as long as you adhere to specific guidelines (listed below).

You may not have permitted development rights if:

your home is a listed building
your home is in a designated area (eg a National Park, area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), conservation area or World Heritage Site)

Rules for Garden Room Construction

To comply with permitted development regulations:

Location: Ensure your garden room isn't in front of your home, considering its status as of July 1, 1948.
Total Area: The combined area of all extensions, sheds, and outbuildings must not exceed 50% of your property's total land area as of July 1, 1948.
Dimensions: Maintain a single-story structure, under 3 meters high (4 meters with a dual-pitched roof), and not exceeding 2.5 meters in height if within 2 meters of your boundary.
Additional Requirements: Eaves should be no more than 2.5 meters above ground, and the structure shouldn't feature balconies, verandas, or raised platforms.

Specific Considerations

Special Areas: In designated areas like National Parks or conservation areas, stricter regulations may apply.
Listed Buildings: Planning permission is required for any outbuilding in a listed building.

Planning Permission for Garden Offices

Permitted development rules cover outbuildings, including garden rooms, which are ‘incidental’ to the main dwelling. Essentially this means that their use is a minor accompaniment to the main house.

Working on your own on your computer in your garden office is more likely to be an ‘incidental’ use than using it as a base for clients to come for meetings or appointments on a regular basis. This would have an effect on the neighbourhood.

In the latter case, your council could ask you to apply for planning permission retrospectively. If it isn’t granted, you’ll have to take down the building.

Check with your local planning office if you’re not sure whether how you plan to use your garden office is ‘incidental’.

Garden Rooms and Building Regulations

Building Regulations focus on structural design, insulation, and safety standards. While they generally don't apply to outbuildings, exceptions exist:

However Building Regulations don’t usually apply to outbuildings, as long as:

it’s not attached to your main home
the floor area is less than 15 square meters
it doesn’t include sleeping accommodation.

If the floor area is between 15sq m and 30sq m, you still don’t usually have to apply for Building Regulations approval, as long as there's no sleeping accommodation and it’s more than 1 metre from your boundary and is made of non-combustible materials.

It will need to comply with Building Regulations if you ever plan to sleep in it or use it as a guest bedroom.

Electrics in your garden room need to comply with part P of the Building Regulations. For example, if you have a separate consumer unit in your garden room you’ll need to get a qualified electrician to connect it to the mains supply, test that the system is safe and issue a certificate showing that it meets the relevant Building Regulations. This is something that we offer as standard in our build.

Garden Room with Bathroom

Planning permission might be necessary if your garden room includes facilities typically found in a main home, such as showers or kitchens. Considerations for plumbing and waste management include: