It’s the first question almost everyone asks, and the answer is more often “no” than people expect. Answer a few questions and we’ll tell you roughly where you stand — no details needed, nothing to fill in.
Planning permission is about whether you’re allowed to build it. Building regulations are about whether it’s built safely. Most of the work we do needs building regs approval even when it needs no planning permission at all.
Permitted development limits measure from the house as first built, or as it stood in 1948 — not from an extension a previous owner added. That catches a lot of people out.
Even where no permission is needed, a Lawful Development Certificate proves it. It costs a fraction of a planning application and saves arguments when you sell.