UK building news, guides & introductions
Plain-English news and guides on planning, costs and regulations across the United Kingdom, plus a simple way to request quotes from independent builders. We are the middle man: we help homeowners find and compare — we do not carry out building work ourselves.
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Planning & Regulations
A grant of planning permission is rarely the end of the paperwork. Most decision notices carry conditions, and some must be dealt with before a spade goes in the ground. Here is how conditions work, how to get them signed off or changed, and what can happen if they are ignored.
Planning & Regulations
Planning permission is only half the story. Most extensions, loft conversions and structural alterations also need building regulations approval, and before work starts you must choose who checks it and which type of application to make. Here are the routes, the time limits set in law and the risks of each.
Planning & Regulations
When an extension, loft dormer or garden building falls outside permitted development, the next step is usually a householder planning application. Here is each stage, the time limits set in law and the changes this year to fees, decision-making and appeals.
Planning & Regulations
Permitted development lets many householders extend without a planning application, but nothing in writing proves it. A Lawful Development Certificate fills that gap. Here is how the proposed and existing-use certificates differ, what evidence councils expect and why the enforcement time limits changed in 2024.
Planning & Regulations
Draft regulations approved by the House of Lords and debated in a Commons committee in October would raise most householder planning fees in England from 8 December 2026. Applications made before that date pay the current fee. Here is what changes, what stays free and what to plan for next.
Renovation
Replacing single glazing or putting solar panels on a listed house normally means applying for listed building consent first. A growing number of London boroughs are granting that consent in advance for whole streets, on strict conditions. Here is how the system works and how to check whether it helps you.
Industry News
London Assembly members want City Hall to publish a ready-made design code for adding storeys and mansard roofs to existing homes, so that homeowners who follow it can expect consent. The Mayor has been asked to respond by 3 November. Until then, the existing permitted development and planning rules still apply.
Costs & Materials
Construction material prices are rising at their fastest rate for more than three years, with structural steel, pipes and reinforcing bar leading the way. Builders are absorbing some of the increase while demand is weak, but homeowners pricing an extension or loft this winter should plan for it.
Lofts
Finding room for a staircase is often the hardest part of a loft conversion. On 19 October the Building Safety Regulator opened a call for evidence on Part K, the building regulation that covers stairs. The current rules stay in force while it runs, so here is what they require now.
Rear, side-return, wraparound and two-storey extensions, common on London's terraces, semis and detached homes.
Dormer, hip-to-gable and mansard lofts, and the building regulations and fire safety rules that apply.
Whole-house refurbishments, structural alterations and period-property restoration.
Infill houses and replacement dwellings, from planning to completion certificate.
Lower-ground and basement works, council basement policies, engineering and party walls.
Fit-outs planned alongside a wider renovation.
Planning and Building Regulations are different in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Start with our nations hub for official links, then browse the UK Areas hub for regions and cities.
Browse England's regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. London borough guides sit under London as one region among the others.
Home Builders does not carry out building work. Any contract is between you and the builder you choose.
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No. Home Builders publishes UK building news and guides and introduces independent builders. Any contract for work is between you and the builder you choose.
We publish UK-wide guides and an Areas hub covering the four nations and England's regions. London has the densest borough-by-borough guides today; you can request quotes from anywhere in the UK.
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Request quotes · UK introductions
Tell us about your extension, loft or renovation anywhere in the UK. With your consent, we pass your enquiry to up to 3 independent builders who advertise with us, so they can contact you with quotes. We do not carry out building work ourselves.