Do you need planning permission for decking?

In shortIn England and Wales, decking is permitted development only while its surface is no more than 300 mm above the ground, it and any other structures cover no more than half the garden, and the house is not listed or a flat. In Scotland the deck floor may be up to 0.5 m above the ground. Northern Ireland follows the same pattern with its own height threshold, so check the Order or ask your council before you build.

Most garden decking in the UK goes up without a planning application, because each nation’s permitted development rules allow a low platform in the garden of a house. The trouble starts with height. A deck that steps out from a patio door, or sits level across a sloping lawn, is often higher at one end than the rules allow, and a quick job becomes an application.

This guide sets out the rules as they stand in autumn 2026 in each of the four nations, then the building regulations that apply to a raised deck whether or not planning is needed. It is a guide, not legal advice. For anything near a limit, check with your council before the installer orders timber.

The rule by nation

England

The rule comes from Class E of the General Permitted Development Order 2015, which covers structures in the garden of a house. Class E does not permit a “raised platform”, and the Order defines raised as more than 0.3 metres above the ground. The Planning Portal puts it as no more than 30 cm. Decking fixed to the house falls under Class A, which excludes raised platforms in the same words, so attached and detached decks are treated alike.

Two more tests sit alongside height. The deck, with every extension, outbuilding, pool and container, must not cover more than half the land around the original house. And nothing under Class E may sit forward of the principal elevation, which rules out front gardens.

Class E is withdrawn at a listed building, so any deck at a listed house needs permission, and listed building consent too if it is fixed to the walls. In a conservation area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a World Heritage Site the class still applies but with further limits, which as we read the Order include a bar on anything between a side wall and the boundary. Councils can also remove Class E rights with an Article 4 direction, after which even a low deck needs an application.

Householder permitted development applies to houses only. A flat or maisonette has no Class E rights, so decking in a ground-floor flat’s garden needs permission, and the lease will almost always require the freeholder’s consent too.

Wales

Wales rewrote its householder rules in 2013 but kept the decking test: a raised platform is one more than 0.3 metres high, the half-the-garden limit applies, and the listed building, front garden and flats exclusions work the same way. Welsh extension rules differ from England’s, so do not rely on an English guide for a deck built as part of an extension.

Scotland

Scotland’s householder classes, rewritten in 2011, include a class for “any deck or other raised platform” and allow the deck floor to be up to 0.5 metres above the ground, more generous than England. No part of the deck may be forward of the front of the house, or of a side wall that fronts a road. Flats are outside the householder rules here too. The class carries further conditions, including on conservation areas, so read it or ask the council. Scottish guidance also measures ground level in its own way, which matters on a slope.

Northern Ireland

Planning in Northern Ireland has been run by the eleven councils since 2015, under the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015. Its householder Class E is built on the England pattern: verandas, balconies and raised platforms are excluded, “raised” is set by a height figure, and there is a coverage limit and a front-of-house rule. We could not confirm the height figure, so we have not printed one. The Department for Infrastructure booklet “Your Home and Planning Permission”, republished by councils, is the plain-language source.

Slopes, and how height is measured

The 300 mm and 0.5 m tests are measured from the ground, which is rarely flat. A level deck across a lawn that falls 400 mm from house to fence is legal at the top and over the limit at the bottom. In England the technical guidance measures from the ground next to the structure, taking the highest part where it is uneven, but councils commonly look at the greatest height of the deck above the ground beneath it. Measure the highest point of the finished surface and, if it is anywhere near the limit, apply for a Lawful Development Certificate rather than argue later. Our note on decking on a slope covers the building side.

Building regulations and balustrades

Planning permission and building regulations are separate. A deck standing on its own in a garden does not normally count as “building work” for the Building Regulations, so most ground-level decks need no application; the Planning Portal says as much. Approval is more likely where the deck is part of an extension, sits over a flat roof or forms a balcony, or affects an escape route or the drainage and ventilation of the house.

Height still brings a safety rule. In England and Wales, Approved Document K is the guidance on guarding. As commonly applied to decks, it means a balustrade wherever the drop is more than about 600 mm, built to at least about 1.1 m high for an external deck at a house, with no opening a 100 mm sphere could pass through where small children may be about, and nothing that works as a ladder. Scotland’s domestic technical handbook, Standard 4.4, follows the same pattern with its own table of heights, as does Northern Ireland’s Technical Booklet H. Whether a low Scottish deck needs a building warrant is a question for the council. A balustrade is also one of the larger costs of a raised deck, as the cost guide shows.

Neighbours and overlooking

Raised decks are a frequent cause of neighbour objections, and a planning officer will weigh overlooking and privacy. A deck at 600 mm puts an adult’s eye line well above a standard fence. Expect a privacy screen to be discussed, and remember that screens have their own permitted development limits, so a tall screen on a raised deck can need consent itself. Where no permission is needed, a word over the fence before the posts go in prevents most complaints.

Covenants, leases and tenancies

Permitted development is a planning matter only. Many houses on newer estates carry a covenant requiring the developer’s or management company’s consent for garden structures, and breaching it can be costly even when no application is needed. Check your title register and transfer deed at HM Land Registry. Leaseholders need the freeholder’s consent, tenants the landlord’s.

How to check with the council

Start with the Planning Portal’s decking pages (England and Wales), mygov.scot (Scotland) or your council’s planning pages (Northern Ireland). If the deck is clearly under the limit, keep a dated photograph and a measured sketch. If it is near the limit, ask for pre-application advice or apply for a Lawful Development Certificate, which confirms in writing that no permission is needed. If it is over, make a householder application. In England that costs a little over £500 at the time of writing, with a certificate at half that, and most decisions arrive within about eight weeks. Fees elsewhere differ.

A good installer will ask about height before quoting. The installer guide explains what a quote should say about planning, and composite or timber covers the boards.

When you are ready for quotes, the town pages list installers whose websites we check: all towns.