A “can I extend?” report before you buy, £179 fixed
The house is perfect except for the kitchen, and the plan is to build out. Before the offer goes in, we check what the rules allow at that address: the permitted limits, the constraints and the planning history. £179.
- £179 fixed, no survey fee
- Constraints and history checked
- A clear yes, maybe or no
What does a pre-purchase report cost?
The report is £179, with no survey fee and no VAT to add. It looks at one address and answers one question: what could you build there, and by which route. It does not replace a full survey of the property’s condition, and it is not a design, but it tells you whether the extension in your head is realistic before you spend on one.
What the £179 report covers
- The planning constraints on the address: conservation area, listed status, Article 4 directions, flood zone and protected trees, from the official datasets
- The planning history: what has been applied for, granted and refused on the house and the street, and any conditions
- What permitted development allows at that house, taking account of earlier extensions and the original house
- The route for the extension you have in mind: no application, prior approval, or planning permission
- A plain-English summary and a clear yes, maybe or no, with what to ask the seller
Why check before you buy?
Because the answer changes the price you should pay. A house that can take a 6 m rear extension is worth more to an extender than one in a conservation area, where the limit is 3 m for a terrace and 4 m for a detached house (technical guidance). A previous owner’s extension can have used the allowance already, and a condition on the old permission can have removed permitted development altogether.
The seller will not tell you these things, and an estate agent is not obliged to know them. We read the constraints and the history, and say what the rules allow.
What we cannot know without more work
The report is a desk study of one address. It does not measure the house, so it cannot say exactly how much of the allowance an earlier extension has used. For that you need the measured building survey. It also cannot say whether the council would grant permission for something that needs an application, only what the policy and the street suggest.
The national Article 4 dataset is incomplete by its own account (planning.data.gov.uk), so we also check the council’s own pages and say where a check could not be completed.
- Constraints from the official datasets and the council
- Planning history for the house and its neighbours
- Permitted development limits, as far as the plans show
- A clear route, and what a full application would need
After the report
If the answer is yes, the next step is usually planning drawings, or a Lawful Development Certificate to prove the extension is permitted. If the answer is maybe, we say what would turn it into a yes, and what to ask the seller. If it is no, you have spent £179 and saved a much bigger mistake.
What decides what you can build
- 3 m / 4 m
- On land such as a conservation area, a single-storey rear extension is limited to 3 m on an attached house and 4 m on a detached one, with no prior approval route to go further. MHCLG permitted development technical guidance, Class A, p.17
- 6 m / 8 m
- Elsewhere, a single-storey rear extension may go to 6 m (attached) or 8 m (detached) through the prior approval route. MHCLG permitted development technical guidance, Class A, p.17
- 50%
- Extensions and outbuildings together must not cover more than 50% of the land around the original house. MHCLG permitted development technical guidance, Class A and E
- 1 July 1948
- Limits are measured from the “original” house, as it existed on 1 July 1948 or as first built if later, so earlier extensions use up your allowance. MHCLG permitted development technical guidance, p.6
- Article 4
- A council can remove permitted development rights in some or all of its area, and a planning condition on an older permission can do the same, so checks should be made with the council. MHCLG permitted development technical guidance, p.9
- Incomplete
- The national Article 4 dataset is published as incomplete and may not cover all of England, which is why we also check with the council. planning.data.gov.uk, Article 4 direction areas
- Material change
- Splitting a house into two or more dwellings is a material change of use that needs planning permission, so it is a different question from an extension. Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.55(3)(a)
Pre-purchase report questions
Can you tell me whether the council would grant permission?
We can tell you the route and the policy position, and what the street suggests. No one can promise a decision.
Is this a survey of the property’s condition?
No. It is a planning and permitted development report. Use a building surveyor for condition.
What if an earlier extension has used the allowance?
Then the limit is lower. Everything is measured from the original house, so earlier extensions count.
How long does it take?
We aim to send it quickly, because the offer is time-sensitive, and we say a date when you order.
Does the £179 come off a later drawings fee?
No. It is a separate service with its own fixed fee.
Other services people book with this one
Found a house? Check it first.
Send the address and tell us what you would like to build. We reply with a fixed fee for the report.