Garden Office Permitted Development
In many cases, a garden office can be built without the need to apply for Planning Permission, provided the building complies with the height and positioning rules outlined by Permitted Development.
The Government’s Planning Portal lists these rules in an easy-to-understand format and serves as the definitive reference. However, we thought it would be helpful to include some garden office images to further illustrate these guidelines.
This page covers the Permitted Development rules for England as detailed on the Planning Portal. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own Planning Portals with slightly different rules. You can find those rules on the following pages:
- Scotland Permitted Development for Garden Offices
- England Permitted Development for Garden Offices
- Wales Permitted Development for Garden Offices
Northern Ireland has separate sites for each county. We spoke with the Planning Department in Belfast, who provided the following link to a comprehensive Permitted Development document. Although the document mentions Ards and North Down Borough Council, the Planning Officer confirmed that the rules apply across Northern Ireland:
Please note that this page and video are intended as a guide and should not be considered a definitive source. The official Planning Portal remains the authoritative reference. It is your responsibility as the homeowner to verify whether you need to apply for Planning Permission before starting work on your garden office. In the worst-case scenario, failure to obtain the necessary permission may result in the building being taken down.
Outbuilding Permitted Development
It's worth noting that the Planning Portal refers to buildings like garden offices as outbuildings.
We will go through each rule as they are stated on the Planning Portal website.
No outbuilding on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation.
You can't build a garden office beyond the front wall of your house under Permitted Development. This means if you want to site a garden office in the front garden of your house you will need to apply for Planning Permission to do so.
If you plan to build a garden office in your front garden, you would need to apply for Planning Permission
Outbuildings and garages to be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof.
This rule is telling us several things:
1) The garden office must be single storey. If you want to build a two storey garden office you will need to apply for Planning Permission.
2) This rule is also telling us that dual pitched roof garden offices should be no higher than 2.5 meters at the eaves and no taller than 4 meters at the ridge. Garden offices with this shape roof need to be sited more than 2 meters from each boundary.
A dual pitched roof garden office must be no taller than 2.5m at the eaves
A dual pitched roof garden office must be no taller than 4m at the ridge
A dual pitched roof garden office taller than 2.5m must be sited at least 2m from each boundary
3) Single sloped roof garden offices, also known as mono pitch roofs can be no taller than 2.5 meters at the eaves and 3 meters at the ridge to comply with Permitted Development rules. They should also be sited more than 2 meters from each of your gardens boundaries.
A single pitch roof must be no taller than 2.5m at the eaves
A single pitch roof should be no taller than 3m at the ridge
Single pitched garden offices need to be sited at least 2m from any boundary under the Permitted Development rules
Maximum height of 2.5 metres in the case of a building, enclosure or container within two metres of a boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse.
If you want to place your garden office within 2 meters of any boundary i.e. your fence wall or hedge. It can be no taller than 2.5 meters high, in most cases, this dictates a flat roof garden office.
Garden offices no taller than 2.5m can be sited within 2 meters of a boundary under the Permitted Development rules
No verandas, balconies or raised platforms
This rule is saying that you can't add a veranda, deck or balcony on your garden office under Permitted Development. However, the page for Permitted Development rules for decks says they can be built under Permitted Development. As long as they are no higher than 300mm (1ft) and that they don't, when combined with other structures cover more than 50% of your garden.
Decks & verandas should be no higher than 300mm under Permitted Development
No more than half the area of land around the "original house"* would be covered by additions or other buildings.
You may already have additions to your house like conservatories and sheds, greenhouses and decking. These buildings combined with the garden office should not cover more than 50% of your garden.
If you live in a Listed Building, within a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Beauty, The Broads or a World Heritage site you WILL NEED TO APPLY FOR PLANNING PERMISSION TO BUILD A GARDEN OFFICE
We have always found the Planning Departments to be helpful, and its worth having a chat with your local office before you decide on a garden office to check your individual position in regards to Planning Permission.
You can make a Pre-Planning application or apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness to ensure your building applies with the Permitted Development rules. There is a cost involved in this but its worth it for the peace of mind.