Do I Need Planning Permission for a Garden Office?

Having a garden office within the perimeter of your home can provide the needed balance for your work-life schedule. If you want to escape the distractions of family life and social media, you can find the needed solace in a garden house.

The need for a garden office may even become more important if you're working remotely. Stepping outside your home to work in your garden office gives you a proper feeling of going to work.

Are you planning on building or buying a customised garden office that suits your preferences? Garden House 24 is more than ready to deliver and install them for you.

However, people who are planning on installing a garden office, often wonder if they would need planning permission to do so. The answer to the question is not straightforward. Whether you'll need permission depends on some factors.

If you’ve got your sights set on a garden office but are wondering if you need planning permission, continue reading this article to find answers.

When Will I Need a Planning Permission?

The location in which you live will often determine if you need planning permission for your garden office. For example, in most areas of the United Kingdom, you don't need permission to create a garden extension in your home. But, if you live in a foreign country, and looking to buy a wooden shed in the USA, you will need to look up local laws.

However, if you live in some special areas such as sites of special scientific interest, maisonettes, flats, or a listed building, you would need permission to build a garden office.

Furthermore, if your house is located in a special conservation region, you might need to obtain approval from the local council. Building an extension on your property without council permission could at times lead to the demolition of such a structure.

The rules apply in every part of the UK, whether you live in England, Wales, or Scotland. Always remember that your garden office must not cover more than 50 percent of the whole landed property.

If you would need some form of local approval, Garden House 24 can provide you with assistance in this regard. They render this service at an affordable price.

Doing some background investigation before buying a garden home would let you know about garden room costs. Not needing approval for a new extension to your home can save you money and time.

Planning Permission for a Garden Office

To build a garden office on your property, you may need to apply for planning permission at the Local Planning Authority (LPA) office.  The council office would serve you an enforcement notice if you erected a structure that needed permission.

As a rule of thumb, if you are changing the use of a building, for example, converting a home into a restaurant, you'll surely need approval from the local council.

However, you wouldn't need approval for your garden house if you fulfilled the following requirements:

-  You wouldn't need permission for your garden office if you have permitted development rights.

-  Your proposed garden office will not be standing directly in front of your main house. The garden house must also be on a level ground.

-  The garden extension and other outbuildings you plan to erect on your property must not cover more than 50 percent of the total land area.

-  The outbuilding extension must be a one-storey building. Anything else outside of this would require planning permission. In addition, the height of your garden house must not be more than 3 meters.

-  If the proposed building extension is so close to the boundary of your house, the height must not be more than 2.5 meters.

If your garden house does not fulfil all the requirements above, you need to contact the local council to obtain planning permission.

Furthermore, you need to find out if the use of your garden house would be incidental or not. Your building extension would be taken down if the purpose of it was not incidental.

The use of your garden office would be considered incidental if all you want to do there is relax and do some office work. However, you would need permission if you planned to use the garden office as a meeting point for several appointments.

Does a Garden Office Need Building Regulations Approval?

Whether your garden office needs building regulation approval depends on a variety of factors. But it is quite important to know the difference between planning permission and building regulation approval.

Planning permission has to do with the location and size of your outbuildings, while building regulations are about the structural integrity of the building.

Generally, in the UK, outbuildings such as garden offices and summer houses wouldn't need regulatory approval.

However, Garden House 24 can help you secure regulatory approval if your garden house is bigger than 15 Square metres. In addition, approval is also needed if the shed or garden room would be used as sleeping accommodation.

Furthermore, if you're building your new garden house with combustible materials, you must get regulatory approval from the local council.

The electrical wiring of your garden office must also comply with the requirements of the local regulatory agency. For example, all the electrical work in your garden house must be connected to the electric circuit in the main building.

You must ensure all the electrical wiring in your garden office is done by certified personnel. He must ensure the electric wiring meets all the requirements of part P of the Building Regulations.