Householder application checklist: validate first time

A householder application document checklist is short, and almost every rejection comes from the same four items: a location plan without a red line, missing existing drawings, the wrong ownership certificate, and a fee calculated on last year's schedule. Get those right and most householder applications validate within a few days. Get one wrong and you lose two or three weeks before the eight week clock even starts.

The eight weeks runs from the day after the application is valid, not the day you pressed submit. That single fact is why this checklist is worth an hour of your time.

Check permitted development first

Before any of it, work out whether you need permission at all. Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 allows a good deal of householder work without an application, subject to limits on depth, height, materials, position and the amount of garden covered.

Rear extensions beyond the ordinary limits may still be possible through the larger home extensions procedure, which allows deeper single storey rear extensions on notification to the council, with a neighbour consultation period. Designated land, meaning conservation areas, National Landscapes, National Parks, the Broads and World Heritage Sites, carries tighter limits, and a listed building needs listed building consent for work that affects its character whatever the planning position.

A lawful development certificate is the only formal way to confirm that works are lawful without permission, and on a borderline case it is worth the fee. This is general guidance, not legal advice, so check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.

The national information requirements

These apply everywhere in England and cannot be argued away.

Householder applications do not normally need a Design and Access Statement. One is required where article 9 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015 applies, which for householder work means a conservation area or World Heritage Site proposal above the stated thresholds, and for listed building consent applications. Our Design and Access Statement page sets out what it covers if you do need one.

Householder development is also exempt from the biodiversity gain condition, so the metric and gain plan that apply to larger schemes are not needed for an extension to your own house.

Site location plan and block plan conventions

The location plan is the item rejected most often, and the requirements are specific.

Use an up-to-date Ordnance Survey based map, normally at 1:1250 for urban sites or 1:2500 for larger rural ones. Outline the whole application site in red, including any land where work will happen and any separate access. Outline in blue any other land you own nearby. Show at least two named roads and enough surrounding buildings for the site to be located, and include the north point and the scale.

The red line is where applications fail. It must cover everything: the extension, the area of garden affected, the drive if it is being altered, and the full curtilage where the description refers to it. A red line drawn tightly around an extension on a plot where the access is also changing is an incomplete application.

The block plan, sometimes called a site plan, is normally at 1:100 or 1:200 and shows the building, the proposal, the boundaries with dimensions to them, trees, hardstanding, and the position of any drainage or bin storage the council asks about.

Existing and proposed drawings

Supply both states for everything. Councils reject applications that show only the proposal, because without the existing drawing the officer cannot see what is changing.

Elevations at 1:50 or 1:100, for every elevation affected, with materials annotated. Floor plans at 1:50 or 1:100, both states. A roof plan where roof form changes. Sections where ground levels change, where a dormer or rooflight is proposed, or where the relationship with a neighbouring boundary is tight, because a section is what shows a 45 degree line argument or a ridge height relationship.

Measure the existing building rather than working from an old drawing. A survey that is 200 mm out will show up when the officer compares your elevation with the street, and it causes problems later with building control and with the builder.

Annotate materials by name and finish. "Brick to match existing" is acceptable on a simple extension. "Render" without a colour invites a condition requiring samples.

Scale bars, north points and drawing numbers

Small things, and they account for a surprising share of invalidity notices.

• Every drawing needs a unique drawing number and a revision letter or number.
• Every drawing needs a stated scale and a scale bar, because documents are printed at different sizes.
• Plans need a north point. Elevations do not, but should be labelled by orientation or by street.
• State the paper size the drawing was produced at.
• Do not submit drawings marked "not to scale" or "for illustration only", and do not submit a single PDF with several drawings on one sheet unless the council accepts it.
• Keep the file names clear, with the drawing number in them, because several authorities reject bundles on naming alone.

Ownership certificates and notices

Section 65 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires every applicant to certify ownership, and getting this wrong can invalidate the permission later.

Certificate A applies where you are the sole owner of the whole application site, and owner includes a freeholder and a leaseholder with at least seven years unexpired. Certificate B applies where someone else has an interest and you know who they are, in which case you must serve the prescribed notice on them and certify that you have, before or at the time of applying. Certificates C and D cover cases where some or all owners cannot be traced, with newspaper publicity.

Two traps. A shared driveway, a strip of land in a management company's ownership, or a flying freehold can all mean somebody else owns part of the site. And a landlord has to be notified on a leasehold property, which tenants frequently miss. Complete the agricultural holdings certificate too, even where no tenancy exists, because a blank box is an incomplete form.

Local requirements that catch people out

Every authority publishes a local validation list, and the householder section is short but specific. The items that come up most:

A Heritage Statement for work in a conservation area or to a listed building, proportionate to the significance affected. A Tree Survey where trees stand within influencing distance of the works, and a tree protection plan where roots are involved. An ecology statement or bat assessment for roof works, soffit removal or outbuilding demolition, which is a legal requirement rather than a preference where a roost may be present. Flood risk information where the site is in flood zone 2 or 3. Parking and refuse details where an extension adds bedrooms. And drainage details for anything involving a new connection or a soakaway.

Download the list and note its date. National guidance expects local lists to be reviewed at least every two years, and an authority relying on a stale list is on weak ground when it insists on an item.

The pre-submission read through

Twenty minutes, and it catches most problems.

1. Does the description of development match the drawings, including every element proposed.
2. Does the red line on the location plan include all the land affected.
3. Is there an existing drawing for every proposed one.
4. Do the dimensions on the block plan agree with those on the elevations.
5. Is the fee the current figure for this type of application.
6. Is the right certificate ticked, and has any notice been served and dated.
7. Are all drawings numbered, scaled and dated.
8. Does the local list have anything you have not supplied.

Keep a dated copy of everything you submit, including the fee receipt. If a change becomes necessary after approval, a later application to vary a condition is a separate process with its own bundle, covered in what to submit with a section 73 application.

For the full set of document types a larger or more constrained project might need, browse all 66 report types by category, or enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your site is likely to need. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.