Permitted Development and Building Regulations
Permitted Development criteria
The garden room should not be used for living or sleeping accommodation.
The garden room must not be built forward of the front elevation of a property.
Garden rooms must be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5m and maximum overall height of 4m with a dual-pitched roof or 3m for any other roof over 2m from a boundary.
Maximum height of 2.5m if the garden room is within 2m of a boundary.
No verandas, balconies or raised platforms (a deck must not exceed 300mm in height).
No more than half the area of land around the “original house” would be covered by additions or other buildings.
In National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the maximum area to be covered by buildings, enclosures, containers and pools more than 20m from the house is limited to 10m². On designated land buildings, enclosures, containers and pools at the side of properties will require planning permission.
Within the curtilage of a listed building any garden room will require planning permission.
Building regulations
The rules governing building regulations for garden rooms are:
Less Than 15m² Internal Floor Area – Building regulations will not normally apply.
Between 15m²-30m² – Building regulations are required if the garden room is built less than 1m from a boundary or it is not constructed substantially of noncombustible materials.
Anything larger than 30m² building regulations is required.
In all cases, building regulations are required if the building contains any sleeping accommodation.
Ensuring you have a building regulations certificate and certificate of lawful development not only gives you peace of mind, but it also adds value to your house. When estate agents value your house, they take into account the total liveable space, and a garden room built to building
regulation standards is classified as liveable space.
For more information, please see the government guidelines on permitted development: www.planningportal.gov.uk
Disclaimer: It is the client’s responsibility to ensure that correct permissions are obtained prior to construction.
