A householder application document checklist

A householder application is refused validation for the same handful of reasons every week: no block plan, a location plan at the wrong scale, the wrong ownership certificate, or a local list item nobody checked for. None of those are planning problems. They are paperwork problems, and a checklist fixes them in an hour.

What follows is the national requirement first, then the local list items that catch people out, then the final check before you submit.

The national requirements

Article 7 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015 sets what every application must include. For a householder scheme that means the completed standard application form, a plan identifying the land, any other plans and drawings needed to describe the development, the correct ownership certificate and agricultural holdings declaration, and the fee.

That is the legal minimum everywhere in England. Nothing on it is optional and no authority can waive it.

A Design and Access Statement is not normally required for a householder extension. The requirement applies to major development and, in a conservation area or World Heritage Site, to development consisting of one or more dwellings or 100 square metres or more of floorspace. Most extensions fall outside that, though some councils ask for a short design statement through their local list, which is a different thing. Where one is needed, a Design and Access Statement explains the design approach and how the scheme deals with access.

Drawings and the scales expected

Councils expect metric scales and a scale bar on every drawing, because drawings are printed and copied at different sizes.

• Location plan at 1:1250 or 1:2500, with the application site edged red and any other land in the applicant's ownership edged blue
• Block or site plan at 1:500 or 1:200, showing the building, the plot boundaries, and the proposal in context
• Existing and proposed floor plans at 1:50 or 1:100
• Existing and proposed elevations at 1:50 or 1:100, showing every elevation affected, including the ones you would rather not draw
• A roof plan where the roof form changes
• A section where levels change or where a dormer or rooflight is proposed

Each drawing needs a title, a drawing number, a revision, a scale and a north point where relevant. Number them properly from the start. Renumbering halfway through an application is how a set ends up inconsistent.

Show the existing and the proposed on separate drawings rather than combined, and draw the neighbouring properties on the elevations where the extension sits near a boundary. An officer assessing overshadowing needs to see what is next door.

Location plan and block plan conventions

The red line is the most common single error. It must include everything the development needs, including any access and any land where work will happen, and it must be drawn on an up to date base map rather than a screenshot with a line over it.

Blue is for other land in the same ownership, and if there is none, there is no blue line. Do not edge the whole garden blue out of caution.

The block plan should show the dimensions that matter: the extension depth, the distance to the boundary, and the distance to the nearest neighbouring window where that is relevant. Officers measure from the drawings, and a drawing without dimensions invites them to scale off it and get a number you did not intend.

Local list items that commonly apply

Every authority publishes a local list, and this is where householder applications diverge. Download the current version for your council rather than relying on a general summary.

The items that recur are these. A heritage statement where the property is listed, in a conservation area, or near a listed building. A tree survey where works fall within the root protection area of a protected or significant tree. A flood risk assessment where the site is in Flood Zone 2 or 3. A structural report for a loft conversion in a terrace. Parking and access details for a dropped kerb or a new driveway. A bat survey where the roof of an older building is being opened up.

Where the property sits in a conservation area, a short Heritage Statement covering the significance of the area and the effect of the proposal on it is usually expected even for a modest extension. Where a protected tree is close to the works, a tree survey to BS 5837 is the document the tree officer will look for, and it needs to show the root protection areas on a plan rather than describing them in text.

Biodiversity net gain does not apply to householder development, which is one of the narrow exemptions in the regime.

Documents needed only in certain areas

Some requirements attach to the location rather than to the scheme.

In Flood Zone 2 or 3, or on a site of one hectare or more, a Flood Risk Assessment is required, and for a householder extension it is usually a short document dealing with finished floor levels, resilient construction and safe access.

In an area of archaeological interest, the county archaeologist may ask for a desk-based assessment even on a small scheme with foundations. In a coalfield referral area, a coal mining risk assessment is commonly asked for. In an Article 4 area, check what permitted development rights have been removed before you assume any part of the work falls outside the application.

Fees, certificates and the form itself

The householder fee is set by the national fee regulations and indexed annually, so take the current figure from the published schedule at the time you submit.

The ownership certificate is the item that most often catches people. Certificate A is for sole ownership of the whole application site. Certificate B is where someone else owns part of it and you have served notice on them. Certificates C and D deal with owners who cannot be traced. Joint ownership, a shared driveway or a boundary strip owned by a neighbour all take you out of Certificate A.

Complete the agricultural holdings declaration even where it plainly does not apply, because a blank field invalidates the form.

The final check

Run through this before you submit.

1. Every drawing has a number, a revision, a scale and a title, and they are all listed in one schedule.
2. The description of development on the form matches what the drawings show.
3. The red line includes everything, and the blue line is right or absent.
4. Existing and proposed are on separate drawings and the elevations are complete.
5. The ownership certificate matches the title.
6. Every local list item is either supplied or addressed in the covering letter with a reason.
7. The fee matches the current schedule.

That last point about the covering letter is worth doing properly. Where you think a local list item does not apply, say so and say why. Validation officers work from a list, and a reasoned explanation is far more likely to be accepted than silence.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check your authority's current validation requirements before submitting, and remember that only a lawful development certificate formally confirms whether works need permission at all.

Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which supporting documents your extension is likely to need.

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