New rights for building new housing

There are certain types of building work that can be undertaken without any need for planning permission to be secured first. These projects fall under permitted development (PD) rights, meaning that the work can go ahead provided it meets building regulations. Recently, the UK government added a few new PD rights applicable to England.

These rights, intended to help satisfy demand for new housing, include rights to add new homes to detached blocks of flats, new flats above particular buildings and new storeys to existing homes. However, as various conditions and restrictions apply in all three instances, you should tread carefully if you are considering utilising any of these rights.

You can work flat-out on… flats

It is now possible under PD to extend purpose-built blocks of flats upwards through adding two extra storeys. However, to be eligible, these blocks of flats must, before the extension, comprise at least three storeys and must not, once the extra storeys have been added, measure 30 metres or more in overall height.

Elsewhere in the amended law, four new PD rights enable new flats to be assembled on top of certain types of buildings. These include detached and terraced buildings currently serving particular commercial uses and terraces and detached buildings presently in use as single houses. This is, however, only a summary of the four new rights.

Exciting new possibilities for house extensions

With yet another recently-introduced permitted development right, homeowners can extend their homes upwards – provided certain conditions are met. For example, under this right, while up to two extra storeys can be added to a home already consisting of at least two storeys, only one additional storey can be built on a single-storey home.

If you own a home in Greater London or any of the Home Counties, we can extend that home upwards for you – either within PD parameters or outside them, in which case, you can also trust us with applying for the planning permission the work would need. Feel free to call us on 0208 087 2607 to find out more.