Do You Need Planning Permission for Your Garden Building?
Answer a few quick questions about your shed, garden room, log cabin or garden office and get a plain-English steer in under two minutes.
For houses in England only. This is a free guide, not legal or professional advice — see the full disclaimer below.
Step 1 of 9
This is a free guide, not legal or professional advice — only your council can give a definitive answer.
Permitted Development at a glance (England)
Most garden sheds, garden rooms, log cabins and garden offices in England can be built without planning permission under what's called Permitted Development — provided they meet all of the conditions below. Miss just one, and you'll usually need a full planning application instead.
- Height: up to 4m overall with a dual-pitched roof, or 3m for any other roof shape (flat or single-slope) — dropping to a maximum of 2.5m if the building is within 2 metres of a garden boundary.
- Eaves height: capped at 2.5m wherever the building sits, regardless of the overall height allowed.
- Garden coverage: outbuildings and extensions together can't cover more than 50% of the garden area around the original house.
- Position: nothing forward of the wall that forms the front of the house — an outbuilding there needs an application whatever its size.
- Verandas, balconies and raised platforms over about 0.3m high are excluded from Permitted Development altogether.
- Listed buildings: any outbuilding within the grounds of a listed building needs permission, no matter how small.
- Conservation areas, National Parks, AONBs and World Heritage Sites have extra rules: a building to the side of the house needs permission at any size, and one more than 20m from the house is capped at 10m² if you want to stay within Permitted Development.
- Use: the building must be "incidental" to living in the house — storage, hobbies, a home gym, a garden office. A self-contained space with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom counts as separate living accommodation and needs its own planning permission.
- Article 4 directions: some councils remove Permitted Development rights on specific streets or areas entirely — worth a quick check with your local planning authority if you're not sure.
What if my building doesn't qualify?
It doesn't mean you can't have it — it just means you'll need to apply to your local council for planning permission before work starts. Many garden buildings get approved without issue; it just takes longer (typically 8 weeks) and there's an application fee. If your answers above landed in a grey area, your council can usually issue a Certificate of Lawful Development to confirm, in writing, that a specific build doesn't need an application — cheap peace of mind if you'd rather not risk it.
How Lichfield Garden Buildings can help
We talk customers through this every week, and while we can't give formal planning advice, we can help you think through position, size and roof style so your building has the best chance of falling comfortably within Permitted Development — or point you to what your council will need if it doesn't. Call us on 01543 398778, or come and see real buildings in the flesh at our Display Site — Buzzards Valley, Tamworth B78 3EQ, open 7 days a week.
Common questions
Do I need planning permission for a garden shed?
Usually not, provided it stays within the height, boundary, coverage and position limits above, isn't in the grounds of a listed building, and is only used for storage or hobbies rather than as living space. Run through the checker above with your own numbers to see where you stand.
Do I need planning permission for a garden room or garden office?
The same Permitted Development rules apply as for any outbuilding — the trigger point is usually height, closeness to a boundary, or whether it ends up being used as self-contained living accommodation rather than an office or studio incidental to the house.
Does a log cabin need planning permission?
Not because it's a log cabin specifically — size, height, position and use are what matter, exactly as for any other garden building. A larger log cabin is simply more likely to bump into the height or 50%-coverage limits.
What about building regulations?
Planning permission and building regulations are separate. Many garden buildings under 15m² are also exempt from building regulations, but larger ones, or those with sleeping accommodation or that sit very close to a boundary, may still need building regulations sign-off even when no planning application is required. Ask us or your council if you're unsure.
I'm not in England — do these rules apply to me?
No. Permitted Development rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you're outside England, please contact your local council directly for the rules that apply to you.
Free guide, not legal or professional advice. This tool gives general information for houses in England based on national Permitted Development rules as published by the Planning Portal and gov.uk. It can't account for every detail of your property — previous extensions, existing outbuildings, an Article 4 direction, or a planning condition attached to your house can all change the answer. Rules vary by property and by council, and only your Local Planning Authority can give a definitive, legally binding answer. Please confirm with your council, or apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development, before ordering a building — especially if your result above was "grey area" or "you'll likely need to apply". Lichfield Garden Buildings accepts no responsibility for decisions made solely on this tool's result.