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House Roadmap

Planning permission for home energy work

Almost all of it is permitted development: panels on a rear roof slope, a heat pump in the garden, a charge point on the wall. The rules that take a project out of permitted development are short, specific and worth knowing before you spend anything.

The short version

  • Roof-mounted solar panelsUsually permitted
  • Ground-mounted solar panelsDepends on the property
  • Air source heat pumpUsually permitted
  • EV charge pointUsually permitted
  • Loft, cavity and underfloor insulationUsually permitted

Listed buildings and conservation area frontages are the two exceptions that account for most of the applications on this page.

  • Householder decisions a year

    149,653

    England, year ending March 2026. Permitted development isn't counted

  • Applications approved

    87%

    England, year ending March 2026. Every kind of development, not just domestic

  • Decided on time

    91%

    Non-major decisions inside eight weeks or an agreed extension

  • Conservation areas

    10,114

    England, from the Planning Data platform

The row above is England, because it is the only nation publishing all of these over a full year: the other three are on their own cycles, and their figures are compared further down with the period each one covers. None of them count permitted development, and none of them split decisions by what was being installed — so these describe how an authority handles applications, not how it feels about solar panels.

By measure

What needs permission, and what doesn't

The conditions below are the ones that decide most domestic cases. They are a summary of four separate orders, not the orders themselves, and the authority's own guidance is what governs a particular house.

  • Roof-mounted solar panels

    Usually permitted
    So long as
    • Panels sit close to the roof slope rather than standing off it on a frame
    • Nothing projects above the highest part of the roof, chimneys aside
    • The array is sited to reduce its effect on the appearance of the building
    • Equipment is taken down when it is no longer needed for generation
    Not if
    • Listed buildings, which need listed building consent whatever the planning position
    • A wall or roof slope fronting a highway inside a conservation area or World Heritage Site
    • Flats and maisonettes in several nations, where the rights attach to a house
    • Scheduled monuments, and land where an article 4 direction has removed the right

  • Ground-mounted solar panels

    Depends on the property
    Because
    • One standalone array in the garden, not a field of them
    • Height and footprint inside the limits the order sets
    • Set back from the boundary by the distance the order requires
    • Not in front of the principal elevation where that elevation faces a highway
    Not if
    • Anything visible from the highway in a conservation area
    • A second standalone array, which needs an application even if the first did not
    • Land inside the curtilage of a listed building

  • Air source heat pump

    Usually permitted
    So long as
    • The unit meets the noise standard the order points at, which is what the installer certifies
    • It is used only for heating and hot water in that dwelling
    • Volume and siting are inside the limits, which were widened in England in 2024
    • It is sited to minimise the effect on the appearance and on neighbours' amenity
    Not if
    • Listed buildings, and in most cases the curtilage of one
    • A wall or roof facing a highway in a conservation area
    • Flats, where the rights are narrower or absent depending on the nation
    • Sites where the noise assessment fails, which is a siting problem more often than a machine problem

  • EV charge point

    Usually permitted
    So long as
    • Wall-mounted on a house or inside its curtilage, within the height and projection limits
    • Not on a wall fronting a highway where the property is in a conservation area
    • Removed when no longer needed
    Not if
    • Listed buildings
    • Upstands in front gardens above the height the order allows
    • Anywhere a cable would cross a public footway, which is a highways question rather than a planning one

  • Loft, cavity and underfloor insulation

    Usually permitted
    So long as
    • Nothing changes outside, so there is nothing for planning to bite on
    Not if
    • Listed buildings, where internal work can still need consent
    • Building regulations still apply, which is a separate approval from planning

  • External wall insulation

    Usually needs permission
    Because
    • Adding 100mm or more to every external wall changes the appearance and the building line
    • Some authorities treat a render-only finish on a rear elevation more leniently — ask first
    Not if
    • Conservation areas, where it is refused more often than any other domestic energy measure
    • Listed buildings, where it is rarely acceptable on a principal elevation
    • Terraces and semis, where the junction with the neighbour has to be resolved anyway

  • Replacement windows and doors

    Usually permitted
    So long as
    • Replacements are similar in appearance to the ones taken out
    • Building regulations are met, usually through a competent person scheme
    Not if
    • Listed buildings, where like-for-like is judged strictly
    • Conservation areas under an article 4 direction, which is common in Victorian suburbs

Measure by measure, the deeper guides carry the rest: planning permission for solar panels, heat pumps and EV charge points.

Four nations

Planning is devolved, so there is no UK answer

Each nation writes its own permitted development order and publishes its own statistics. The differences are small in principle and large in practice, particularly for heat pumps near a boundary.

  • England

    87% approved

    Solar and heat pumps sit in Part 14 of Schedule 2. Domestic heat pump rights were widened in 2024: the requirement to sit a unit a metre from the boundary went, and the size limit rose. Conservation area frontages and listed buildings are still the two things that take a project out of permitted development.

    The order
    Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015
    Where to check
    The council's planning portal, or the Planning Portal's interactive house

  • Wales

    Wales runs the same shape of order with its own amendments, and is marginally more generous for domestic solar than England. National Parks cover a larger share of Wales than of England, and rights are narrower inside them.

    The order
    Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, as it applies in Wales
    Where to check
    The council's planning service, or the Welsh Government's permitted development guidance

  • Scotland

    92.2% approved

    Scotland's rights were widened for both solar and heat pumps, which is why a large share of domestic energy work here never reaches an application at all. Conservation areas and listed buildings remain the exceptions, and Scotland lists more buildings per head than the rest of the UK.

    The order
    Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, as amended
    Where to check
    The council's planning service, or the ePlanning Scotland portal

  • Northern Ireland

    94.4% approved

    Northern Ireland has its own planning system and eleven councils, each its own planning authority. The renewables rights are in their own part of the order and are narrower than Great Britain's in places, particularly for heat pumps on or near a boundary.

    The order
    Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015
    Where to check
    The council's planning office, or the NI Planning Portal

The odds

What happens to the applications that are made

Applications are rarely refused because the technology is unwelcome. They are refused on appearance, on noise, or on paperwork, and two of those three are fixable before you apply.

Applications approved

Every kind of development, not only domestic energy work.

  1. England149,653 householder decisions87%
  2. Scotland8,394 householder decisions92.2%
  3. Northern Ireland94.4%

No publisher splits decisions by what was being installed, so this is the closest any of them gets. The approval rate for householder work alone is usually higher.

Decided inside the target

Non-major decisions made in eight weeks, or in a time agreed with the applicant.

  1. England91%

An agreed extension of time is routine rather than a warning sign: it is how an authority avoids refusing for lack of information.

Wales publishes decisions without the grants alongside them, so there is no approval rate to show — a gap in the statistics rather than in our import.

If you apply

Five steps, and one of them is free

The expensive mistake is finding out after the scaffolding is up. Everything that decides the answer — conservation area, listed status, an article 4 direction — is public and searchable by address.

Get a lawful development certificate anyway

It costs a fraction of a full application. It is the piece of paper a buyer's solicitor asks for in five years' time, and the one nobody has.

Where this page's answers come from

  • MHCLG — planning applications in England, live tables
  • Welsh Government — development management quarterly survey
  • Scottish Government — planning performance statistics
  • Department for Infrastructure — Northern Ireland planning statistics
  • Planning Data platform — conservation areas by local planning authority
  • The permitted development order for each of the four nations

Last checked against these sources on 17 September 2026.

  1. Check before you buy anything

    Conservation area, listed status, article 4 direction and National Park boundary are all public and all searchable by address. Five minutes here is worth more than any amount of arguing later.

  2. Ask for pre-application advice

    Most authorities charge a modest fee for a written view before you apply. For anything on a front elevation or a listed building it is the cheapest way to find out whether the answer is no.

  3. Apply, or certify

    If permission is needed it is a householder application. If it is not, apply for a lawful development certificate instead: it is cheaper, and it is the document a buyer's solicitor asks for years later.

  4. Wait out the statutory period

    Householder applications have an eight-week target. Authorities miss it routinely, and an agreed extension of time is normal rather than a warning sign.

  5. If it is refused, look at what was refused

    Refusals on appearance often survive a resited or resized scheme. A free appeal to the planning inspectorate is available for six months on a householder refusal, but resubmitting is usually faster.

Your council

34 percentage points between the easiest authority and the hardest

The same measure, on the same kind of house, decided differently depending on which side of a line it sits. Conservation area coverage explains more of that spread than anything else.

Highest and lowest approval rates

English authorities: the five at each end, of 233 with at least 250 householder decisions published.

  1. Fareham97.6%
  2. North Kesteven97%
  3. Cheltenham96.8%
  4. North Tyneside96.8%
  5. Amber Valley96%
  6. Windsor and Maidenhead71.6%
  7. Mole Valley71.6%
  8. Hounslow71.5%
  9. Epping Forest67.2%
  10. Barking and Dagenham64.1%

England only, because it is one publisher over one period — ranking a Scottish council's financial year against an English council's calendar year would be a league table of publication cycles. Every kind of development: an authority with a lot of conservation area frontage sits at the bottom of a list like this whatever it thinks about solar panels.

Every area we cover has its own planning page, with that authority's figures and the conservation areas inside it.

Questions

Common questions about planning

Do solar panels need planning permission in the UK?

Usually not. Panels on the roof of a house are permitted development in all four nations as long as they sit close to the roof slope, do not rise above the ridge and are not on an elevation fronting a highway in a conservation area. Listed buildings are the firm exception: they need listed building consent whatever the planning answer, and that consent is refused far more often than planning permission is.

Do I need planning permission for a heat pump?

In most cases no. An air source heat pump serving a single house is permitted development where it meets the noise standard the order points at and sits inside the size and siting limits. England widened those limits in 2024 by dropping the one-metre boundary rule. Flats, listed buildings and conservation area frontages are where applications are still needed.

What is a lawful development certificate, and do I need one?

It is a formal decision that the work did not need permission. You do not have to have one, but it costs a fraction of a full application and it is the piece of paper a conveyancer asks for when you sell. For anything that a future buyer might query — a heat pump near a boundary, panels on a side elevation — it is worth the fee.

Does permitted development apply to flats?

Often not. Most of the domestic rights attach to a dwellinghouse, and a flat or maisonette is not one. Whether a flat can have panels or a heat pump usually comes down to the lease and the freeholder before it comes down to planning at all.

How long does a householder application take?

Eight weeks is the statutory target for a non-major application. The published statistics on this page show what each nation actually manages, and an agreed extension of time beyond eight weeks is routine rather than a sign of trouble.

What does an application cost?

Householder application fees are set nationally and are revised most years, so we do not print a figure here that would be wrong within months. Your council's planning pages carry the current fee, and a lawful development certificate for existing work is charged at a lower rate.

One thing we do not publish

Why applications are refused. The reason sits in the decision notice for each case, and no national dataset collects it. We would rather say that than sort refusals into categories nobody counted.

Find out what applies to your address

Conservation area, listed status and National Park boundary are all recorded against the property. Knowing which apply is the first five minutes of any project.

Planning by area