5 home renovations that don't always need planning permission

'Do I need planning permission?' is a common question many homeowners ask when it comes to home renovations such as sheds, porches, summer houses, conservatories and loft conversions.

As a rule, most minor house extensions don't need planning permission as long as you stick to guidelines and rules laid out by your Local Planning Authority (LPA). You can find more information on your LPA here. Always check with them first before starting your renovation. Remember: if your project needs planning permission and you do the work without getting it, you can be served an 'enforcement notice' ordering you to undo all the changes you have made.

For information on planning permission and the planning process, Planning Portal will provide you with a wealth of advice. But luckily, Compare The Market has come up with a handy tool which provides straightforward information on the most Googled extensions and whether they need planning permission.

Bare in mind that 'regardless of planning permission, most new structures or changes to an existing structure will be subject to Building Regulations,' Compare The Market's experts say. 'This involves submitting architectural drawings of the proposed project to the local authorities for approval and takes up to 8 weeks, for smaller projects you may be able to use a Building Notice which can take as little as 48 hours for approval.'

One minor change that probably will need planning permission is fencing.

'One of the top things people are looking to build themselves that they will need planning permission for is a fence next to their neighbours,' say Compare the Market. 'This is, however, only if it meets certain parameters, including if it’s over a metre high and next to a vehicle highway or two metres high elsewhere. You also need permission if it’s being built in the vicinity of a listed building, whether that’s yours or one on a nearby property.'

Here are five renovations that don't always need planning permission.

You do not need planning permission for a porch on a house, providing:

• The ground floor area, when measured externally, would not exceed three square metres.

• No part would be more than three metres above ground level.

• No part of the porch would be within two metres of any boundary of the dwelling house and the highway.

'If you take the front door of the property out the porch then becomes part of the property and is subject to building regulations and potentially planning permission,' say Compare the Market. 'Rules may be different for flats, maisonettes, other building types or houses created through the permitted development rights to change use.'

You do not need planning permission for a conservatory, provided you adhere to limits and conditions, including extensions should not be higher than the highest part of the roof, no verandas, balconies or raised platforms and no more than half the of land around the house would be covered by additions.

Find the full list of conditions on Compare The Market's website.

'Building regulations do not normally apply to outbuildings, such as an outdoor office or summer house, if the floor area of the building in less that 15 meters squared and the building is not used for sleeping. These same rules apply to sheds, greenhouses and garages,' say the experts at Compare the Market.

'If the building is between 15 and 30 square meters and contains no sleeping accommodation you still may not need to apply for building regulations. However, it is always best to check your project with the local authorities as architectural drawings may need to be submitted.'

• View the House Beautiful Signature Collection of garden rooms by Crown Pavilions.

You do not need planning permission for a loft conversion on a house, providing you adhere to certain rules including no extension beyond the plane of the existing roof slope of the principal elevation that fronts the highway, no extension to be higher than the highest part of the roof, and materials should be similar in appearance to the existing house.

See the full list of rules and regulations on loft conversions here.

You will only need planning permission for building fences if any of the following limits and conditions apply:

• If fencing is over 1 metre high next to any highway used by vehicles or the footpath or fencing is over 2 metres high elsewhere.

• If your house is a listed building or in the curtilage of a listed building.

• If the fence, wall or gate, or any other boundary involved, forms a boundary with a neighbouring listed building or its curtilage.

You will not need permission to take down your fence unless it is in a conservation area.