Do I need planning permission for a garden room?

The move to hybrid and remote working has become a legacy of the pandemic. Between January and March 2025, 28% of working adults in the UK were engaged in hybrid work, according to the Office for National Statistics. Despite widespread media coverage of employers calling for a return to the office, the number of hybrid workers has continued to rise steadily since 2022.

If home or hybrid working has become your ‘new normal’, there’s a good chance you are seeking to escape the spare bedroom, kitchen table, or sofa in favour of a quiet workspace in the garden. Maintaining a clear boundary between your home and work life is beneficial for your wellbeing, and it will also likely enhance your productivity, helping you achieve your goals more efficiently. As a bonus, you can clear your home of all that work-related clutter.

Shoffices

It’s not surprising then that demand for ‘shoffices’ – sheds that also serve as offices – is at an all-time high. However, describing many of these occasionally stunning structures as sheds can seem a travesty. While some are little more than potting sheds with large windows, a quick online search reveals that shoffice designers really know how to let their creativity flow. At the top end, you will see hints of Huf Haus, Frank Gehry, and Renzo Piano, although Center Parcs lodge appears more prominently towards the more affordable end.

Do I need planning permission for a garden room?

So, assuming you have the space and the budget for your Guggenheim Bilbao in miniature, where do you stand regarding planning permission?

The good news is that most garden rooms do not need planning permission. However, some do, and you should always seek advice from your local authority’s planning department. Ultimately, whether you require planning permission for your shoffice will depend on several factors, including:

• its size;
• where you plan to put it;
• its intended use; and
• where you live.

Find details of your local authority.

Garden Room Permitted development

Most garden rooms are classified as outbuildings, meaning you can build one if you have permitted development rights and adhere to certain rules. You will not have permitted development rights if your home is:

• a flat, maisonette or house in multiple occupation; or
• in a conservation area; or
• a listed building; or
• a property that has had the permitted development rights removed, perhaps because of the original or subsequent planning permission.

Garden room planning permission

Subject to having permitted development rights, you can build your garden room subject to certain rules:

• It must not be built in front of your home. If the property has been extended, then the front refers to how it appeared on 1^st July 1948.
• The total area of all extensions, outbuildings and sheds – including your proposed shoffice – should not cover more than 50% of the total land around the original house, i.e., as it was first built or stood on 1 July 1948 if it was constructed before that date.
• It must be a single-storey structure, with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres. Its maximum overall height must not exceed 4 metres for a dual-pitched roof or 3 metres in any other case.
• If it’s within 2 metres of the property boundary, the entire building must not be taller than 2.5 metres.
• It must not include a veranda, balcony, or raised platform.
• It must not be capable of functioning as self-contained living accommodation.

Stricter rules apply if you live in a World Heritage Site, a National Park, or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Building regulations for garden rooms

Not every garden room requires compliance with Building Regulations. Building Regulations differ from Planning Permission and Permitted Development. While Planning Permission and Permitted Development determine the size and location of a garden room, the Building Regulations specify how it must be constructed.

Building regulations usually do not apply if:

• The floor area is less than 15 square metres, and
• The building does not include any sleeping accommodation.

For buildings with a floor area between 15 and 30 square metres, building regulations approval is also generally not required, as long as:

• There is no sleeping accommodation, and
• The building is either at least 1 metre from any boundary or is constructed mainly from non-combustible materials.

However, irrespective of its size, a garden room requires building regulation approval if you plan to sleep there, even occasionally. In addition, the electrics in every garden room must comply with building regulations (Approved Document P). 

Working from home more generally

Working from home can have some unexpected consequences. In particular, we suggest reading our previous article on the implications of home working for your mortgage and home insurance.

You should also carefully consider GDPR and confidentiality concerns. Remember, even something as routine as a video conference needs planning to make sure it’s GDPR compliant.