Larger Rear Extensions Can Now Be Built Without Planning Permission

In 2013, the Conservative government decided to temporarily relax the rules for home extensions in England, allowing single-storey rear extensions of up to six metres for terraced or semi-detached homes, or eight metres for detached homes, to be added without planning permission. They chose to do this because they wanted to give families more opportunity to extend their homes.

Around 110,000 people have since taken advantage of this change in the rules which has led to the government very recently announcing that the temporary rule change will now become permanent.

You should view this as potentially very welcome news if you are thinking about expanding your own home for a few reasons.

Not having to submit a planning application will save you in the region of £206, the current cost of a planning application in England. It will also reduce the time and hassle involved in putting a full planning application together. And, perhaps the biggest cause for celebration is the fact that you won’t need to wait for 8-13 weeks to find out if your local authority approves the planning application and gives you the go-ahead to construct the extension. However, you do have to wait 42 days from the date your local council acknowledge receipt of your Neighbours Consent Application Form and to scale plans of your planned extension that they require you to provide them with.

When you’re looking to have an extension within these size limits integrated into your home, you just need to fill in a relatively simple form and submit this to our local authority of the building work, rather than submit a more detailed planning application. They will inform your neighbours of the plans to give them a chance to raise any concerns or objections they have (they must have a minimum of 21 days notice). If any concerns or objections are raised by them, it will then be up to your local authority to adjudicate whether the extension can be built or not.

Expanding is a lot less expensive, and a lot less stressful, than moving house. Remaining where you already live, rather than relocating, will also ensure you don’t have to move away from any close friends or relatives.

If, off the back of this blog post, your mind is now set on extending, you can work closely with Hazlemere to design a home extension that sits inside of the size limits. The only move you will need to make is to book an appointment to begin planning it all.