Do I need planning permission?
Most garden buildings don't need it. In England, outbuildings usually fall under permitted development, which means no application โ provided you stay inside the limits.
The limits in England
Your building generally needs to be:
- Single storey
- Eaves no higher than 2.5m
- No more than 4m high overall with a dual-pitched roof, or 3m for any other roof shape
- No more than 2.5m high if it's within 2m of a boundary
- Covering no more than 50% of the land around the original house
- Not forward of the principal elevation โ in most cases, not in the front garden
- Not used as self-contained living or sleeping accommodation
That last one catches people out. A garden office is fine. A garden building someone sleeps in as a separate dwelling is not.
Where it's different
The rules are not the same in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each of which has its own system.
And in all four nations, permitted development rights are often restricted or removed entirely for:
- Listed buildings and their curtilage
- Conservation areas
- National Parks, the Broads, and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Properties where rights have been removed by a specific planning condition โ common on newer estates
What to do
If you're comfortably inside the limits and none of the above applies, you're almost certainly fine.
If you're near any of the numbers, or near a boundary, or in any of those areas โ ring your local planning authority before you order. It's a free phone call and it takes ten minutes. Moving or demolishing a building you've already paid for does not.
Some councils offer a Lawful Development Certificate โ a paid-for formal confirmation that you didn't need permission. Worth having if you ever plan to sell.
This is general guidance, not a legal opinion, and it is not a substitute for asking your council. We sell garden buildings; we're not planning consultants. If you tell us the height and where it's going, though, we can tell you which models stay inside the usual limits.