How to check planning permission on a house
Search the council's online planning register by address or postcode. It lists past applications, decisions and, for most modern cases, the approved plans and conditions. Older records may be offline, and work done under permitted development or without permission will not appear. Compare what you find with the house as it stands, then ask your conveyancer about any gaps.
Search the council's planning register
Every local planning authority must keep a register of planning applications for its area, and most publish it online. In areas with both county and district councils, the district holds the register, including copies of county applications.
- Find the right authority by entering the postcode in the Planning Portal's council finder. The Portal holds no planning records itself, so you then go to that council's website.
- Open the council's planning search, sometimes called the planning register or public access, and search the address.
- If nothing appears, try the house number and street without the postcode, any house name, and older street names. Council address records are not always consistent.
- Open each entry and read the decision notice and plans, not just the one-line description.
- For older work, check whether the council keeps a second archive. Arun District Council, for example, splits its records at 1987, and Cherwell offers only decision notices for applications made before 1990. If records are missing, ask for a planning history search. Many councils charge for this.
What each record tells you
| Document | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Decision notice | Whether permission was granted or refused, the date, and the conditions attached. |
| Approved plans | What was allowed. Compare size, position and windows with what was built. |
| Conditions | Limits that still apply, including any condition removing permitted development rights. |
| Officer report | Why the council reached its decision, often with useful history of the site. |
| Appeal decision | What a planning inspector decided after a refusal or a council's failure to decide. |
A grant of permission does not mean the work was built, or built as approved. Unless the permission says otherwise, work in England generally has to start within three years of the grant. The default period in Wales is five years.
What the register will not show
- Permitted development. Some extensions, lofts and outbuildings are allowed by a national grant of permission, so no application exists. A missing record does not mean the work was unlawful.
- Work done without permission. There is no application to find, so you have to spot it yourself.
- Building regulations. These are a separate system, and permitted development does not remove them. Ask the seller for completion certificates.
- Lost rights. A council can remove permitted development rights through a condition on an earlier permission or through an Article 4 direction, so check both before planning your own work.
Compare the paperwork with the house
Take the agent's floor plan and photos and check each obvious change against the register: extensions, loft rooms, garage conversions and outbuildings. Where there is no record, ask whether the work was permitted development and how the owner knows.
The seller's TA6 property information form asks for planning permissions, building regulations approvals and completion certificates for work to the property. Question 5.4 covers breaches of conditions and work without the necessary consents, and question 5.5 covers unresolved planning or building control issues. Read those answers against what you found.
Time limits matter too. In England, a council generally has 10 years to act against building work substantially completed on or after 25 April 2024, and the same for a change of use to a single house from that date. For earlier cases the limit is 4 years. Other breaches carry a 10-year limit. Wales keeps the 4-year limit for building work and changes of use to a single house. Deliberate concealment can defeat these limits.
An owner can apply for a lawful development certificate, a council decision confirming that an existing use or building work is lawful for planning purposes. It does not replace building regulations or listed building consent.
Where a report and your searches fit
A Doorstep Report shows designations such as conservation areas and listed buildings, plus nearby applications where Planning Data holds them. It covers England only, coverage varies by council, and results relate to the postcode area, so use it as a prompt to check the register. It is not a planning decision and cannot tell you whether a particular extension is lawful.
Your conveyancer's local authority search adds the council's formal replies on planning history and enforcement. See what searches you need when buying and what to check before buying a house.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Welsh councils keep their own registers, but the planning data in a report does not cover Wales, so go straight to the council. In Scotland, councils publish applications on their own websites. In Northern Ireland, use the regional planning register, although Mid Ulster runs its own portal. Doorstep Reports do not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Questions, answered
Can you check planning permission online?
Usually, yes. Councils must keep a planning register and most publish it online. Recent cases normally include plans and reports. Older cases may show only a decision notice, or you may need to ask the council.
Does planning permission stay with the house?
Usually. Permission runs with the land, so it normally benefits later owners. Read the conditions, because some limit the use or occupation of the property, including to a named person or company.
How do I know if permitted development rights were removed?
Read the conditions on earlier permissions for the house and check the council's Article 4 directions. If it is still unclear, ask the council. An owner can also apply for a lawful development certificate for a legally binding answer.
What if work was done without planning permission?
It may still be lawful if it was permitted development or the enforcement period has passed, but that depends on the facts. Raise it with your conveyancer before exchange. An owner has one opportunity to seek permission after the event, through a retrospective application or an appeal against an enforcement notice.