Do you need planning permission to build a garage?

Ifyou want to add a detached garage to your home, whether you need planning will depend on your project falling into the Permitted Development camp or not, as planning consultant Simon Rix explains

- Simon Rix

Planning law states that you can't do any building work to or around your house unless a specific rule says you can. So it's important to know what those rules are before constructing any new structure on your land, including a detached garage.

This article should help you determine whether you can build your garage under Permitted Development rules or whether you need formal planning permission, plus how you could tweak your plans to avoid needing to apply.

IS PLANNING PERMISSION NEEDED?

It depends. For example, if your home is a flat or a maisonette you will need planning permission.

If your project meets certain criteria, outlined below, your garage could be regarded as Permitted Development (PD), which is where you are deemed to have already been granted planning permission by the national PD rules.

If it doesn't meet these rules, you'll have to make a formal application for planning consent. This is not normally a problem, but it's a set of hoops you'll need to jump through to stay legal, and a planning consultant will be able to help with this.

If you think your project does come under PD rules, but you want to be cast-iron certain, you can get your planning consultant to apply for a Lawful Development Certificate for you to get a legally binding confirmation from your local planning authority that what you want to do really doesn't need a full planning application.

HOW BIG CAN A GARAGE BE WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION?

To use PD rights and avoid going through the hoops of a planning application, your garage would need to be no more than one storey high. This means: 

● you’ll need to keep the eaves height to 2.5 metres or less

● the overall height cannot be more than 4 metres for a dual pitched roof