Shopping Guides Buyer's Guide To Summerhouses

Date Published:

29/08/2008

Not so long ago, a garden building was a shed or, at best, a gazebo with some cheap cladding around the outside. Now, there are all shapes and sizes on offer, some with a mezzanine floor and even double glazing. With more than two million of us already swapping office life for a room at home, this new generation of buildings could provide a useful separate workspace – or just a place to lounge...

By Mark Ramuz

Do I Need Permission For A Summerhouse?

Before you decide whether to invest in a room outside, you must check if planning permission is needed. You may need planning permission if:

* your house is a listed building and you want to add a garden building over 10 cubic metres.

* you live in a conservation area, national park, area of outstanding natural beauty or The Broads and want to add a building of 10 cubic metres or more.

* you wish to use the new building for a business or even to store materials for a business.

* the structure will be more than 3m high (or 4m high if it has a ridged roof).

* more than half the original area around your house would be taken up by the new building.

* the structure is going to be nearer any road than your house, unless the distance from the road to the new building is more than 20 metres.

Where To Put Your Summerhouse: The Rules

Where you plan to site the new building is also important. If it will be within five metres of your home (and over 10 cubic metres) it will be treated as an extension to your house. You local authority will then count it as part of your ‘permitted development’. This may be a problem if you have already a large extension to an existing property. Always contact your local authority planning department and ask their advice.

You may be asked to send in a sketch with the dimensions and location in your garden. Your council office planning department should let you know within two weeks if it needs planning permission. If so, the fee is around £95. If you aren’t the freeholder of the property, you will have to get permission for any garden building from the freeholder as well as satisfying any relevant planning permission restrictions.

Your neighbours may object if the room blocks light to their property or overlooks them, so keep them informed of your plans and show them what you would like to put up.

Building regulations don’t normally apply to the building of a timber garden room as it’s classed as a ‘temporary structure.’ However, you should contact the Building Control department of your local authority if it’s to be built over any drain covers or you wish to plumb into your house drain system, to install a toilet, for example. Buildings larger than 30 square metres will need to comply with Building regulations.