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Householder Planning Application: Fees, Forms and Steps
BeforeBricks Marketing Team
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A householder planning application is the route you use in England to ask your council for permission to alter or extend a single house, or to carry out works within its garden, when the work goes beyond permitted development. You submit a form, drawings, an ownership certificate and the fee (from 1 April 2026, £548 for extending or altering a single house, or £272 for a garden building, fence or wall), and the council normally has 8 weeks to decide. It cannot be used for flats, new homes or a change of use.
Below we explain what the householder route covers, what you need to send, how the council handles it and what happens if the answer is no.
What does a householder application cover?
The Planning Portal's guidance on the householder form says it is for proposals to alter or enlarge a single house, including works within its garden. Typical examples are extensions, loft conversions, garages, fences and porches.
It is not the right form for:
- works to a flat;
- anything that changes the number of homes, such as converting a house into flats or building a separate house in the garden;
- changing the use of the property to a business or other non-residential use;
- works outside the garden of the house, such as stables in a separate paddock.
Those projects need a full planning application instead.
Do you need one at all?
Many extensions can be built under permitted development rights without an application. The Planning Portal sets out limits such as extensions and other buildings not covering more than half the land around the original house, and extensions not being higher than the highest part of the existing roof. Go beyond those limits and you will usually need householder permission. Some cases always need it: side extensions of more than one storey, and any side extension on designated land such as a conservation area or National Park. These rights apply to houses only, not flats. Our guide to what you can build without planning permission goes through the rules in more detail.
If you think your project is permitted development but want formal confirmation, you can apply for a lawful development certificate instead of a householder application.
What do you need to submit?
GOV.UK says a valid application needs four things: a completed application form, the national information requirements, the correct fee and anything on the council's local list.
Plans and drawings
The minimum is a location plan showing the site in relation to the surrounding area. GOV.UK adds that additional plans and drawings will in most cases be necessary to describe the proposal. For an extension we would normally expect to provide existing and proposed floor plans and elevations, but check your council's local list for exactly what it asks for. Our guide to block plans and site location plans explains how those plans are prepared.
Ownership certificate
You do not have to own the property to apply, but you must complete an ownership certificate. Certificate A is for a sole owner with no agricultural tenants. Certificates B, C and D cover cases where there are other owners or agricultural tenants, depending on whether you know all, some or none of them. An owner includes anyone with a freehold or a lease with at least 7 years left to run, and you must notify them. GOV.UK is clear that an application without a completed certificate is not valid.
Design and access statement
Most householder applications do not need one. GOV.UK lists it for major development and for certain development in a conservation area or World Heritage Site, so check with your council if your home is in one of those areas.
The local list
Each council publishes a local validation list on its website, which may ask for items beyond the national requirements. GOV.UK says the list should be reviewed at least every 2 years, and local requirements that are not on a published local list have no bearing on whether an application is valid.
How much does a householder application cost?
The national fee schedule from 1 April 2026 sets the fee for the enlargement or alteration of a single house at £548 (£1,083 for two or more houses). Works within the garden of an existing house, such as an outbuilding, or a gate, fence or wall along the boundary, fall in a separate category at £272. Fees in England now rise each 1 April in line with inflation, capped at 10%, so check the current schedule before you pay. Professional fees for drawings are separate and are not set nationally.
What happens after you apply?
- Validation. The council checks the form, drawings, certificate and fee. If something is missing it will ask for it, and the decision period runs from when the application is valid. If you think the council is asking for information it should not, GOV.UK explains that you can serve an article 12 notice.
- Consultation. The council publicises the application with a site notice or a letter to neighbours, plus its website. Comments can be made for at least 21 days and the council cannot decide the application before that period ends.
- Assessment. The council assesses the proposal against its planning policies. Many decisions are delegated to officers, which GOV.UK says helps decisions on applications that raise no significant planning issues to be made quickly; others go to a planning committee.
- Decision. The statutory period for a householder application is 8 weeks, unless you agree a longer period in writing. For applications submitted on or after 6 December 2023, if there is no decision after 16 weeks, no longer period was agreed and no appeal has been made, the fee must be refunded under the planning guarantee.
Our post on how long a planning application takes looks at what can slow each stage down.
A real example: a garden project with clear conditions
One application we prepared was for a garden tennis court and cricket net at a home in the Matching Green area of Epping Forest district. It was approved in November 2022. The conditions limited the court to private use, ruled out floodlighting and required matching materials. Conditions like these tell you what the council wanted to control. Read every condition on your decision notice before you start work.
What if your application is refused?
You can change the design and apply again, or appeal. A householder appeal must reach the Planning Inspectorate within 12 weeks of the date on the decision letter (shorter deadlines apply if you have received an enforcement notice in the last 2 years). An inspector visits the site and the decision is issued in writing. You also have a right to appeal if the council does not decide a valid application within the time limit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I submit a householder application myself?
Yes. GOV.UK says anyone can apply, and you can submit online through the Planning Portal. What matters is that the drawings and documents meet the national requirements and the council's local list.
Is a householder application the same as full planning permission?
No. Both grant planning permission, but the householder form is only for works to a single house and its garden. Flats, new homes and changes of use need a full application.
How long is householder planning permission valid?
The decision notice sets a time limit within which work must start, so check the conditions on your own notice.
Talk it through with us
If you are not sure whether your project needs a householder application or which drawings your council will want, we are happy to talk it through. Book a free advice call and we will tell you honestly which route we think fits.
