Planning fees for a new dwelling and the sliding scale

The fee for an application to build new dwellings is not a flat figure. It runs on a per dwelling basis up to a threshold, then switches to a base amount plus a smaller increment for each additional dwelling, and is capped at the top end. Outline applications are charged differently again, by site area rather than by unit count. And the whole schedule has been indexed annually since April 2025, so any figure you remember from a previous project is out of date.

That means the only safe way to fix a fee is to take the current schedule, identify which category your application falls into, and do the arithmetic on the numbers you have actually drawn. Submitting with the wrong fee is one of the most common causes of an application failing validation, and the clock does not start until it is right.

The per dwelling fee and where the band changes

The Fees for Applications Regulations 2012, as amended, set out the categories. For the erection of dwellinghouses, the structure is:

• Up to and including a threshold number of dwellings, a fixed amount for each dwelling
• Above that threshold, a base amount for the threshold quantity plus a lower amount for each additional dwelling
• An overall maximum, so very large schemes do not scale indefinitely

The threshold sits at 50 dwellings. Below it, the arithmetic is straightforward multiplication. Above it, the marginal cost of each extra unit drops sharply, which is why the fee on a 200 unit scheme is far less than four times the fee on a 50 unit scheme.

Two practical points. Count the dwellings the application creates, including any created by conversion within the same application, and check whether your scheme also falls into another fee category, because where more than one applies the position is set by the regulations rather than by preference.

Fees for outline applications by site area

Outline applications for residential development are charged on site area rather than unit numbers, in bands of 0.1 hectare, with a base amount plus an increment per additional 0.1 hectare above a threshold area, and a cap.

This produces a result that surprises people. A low density scheme on a large site can attract a higher outline fee than a denser scheme with more units, because the charge follows the red line rather than the accommodation. So the red line on an outline application is a cost decision as well as a planning one. Include only the land the application needs.

Site area is measured as the area of the application site, so access strips, visibility splays outside the main parcel and land included only for drainage all count. Where land is included for a purpose that could be dealt with by condition or by a separate application later, ask whether it needs to be inside the line at all.

Reserved matters fees

An outline permission does not carry its reserved matters with it. Applications for approval of reserved matters carry their own fee, and where a scheme is brought forward through several reserved matters applications, the schedule sets how subsequent ones are charged.

For a phased scheme this is a recurring cost rather than a single one, which is the point made in our note on how planning costs recur when a scheme is phased. Budget a fee for each reserved matters submission, each condition discharge request, and any variation under section 73, rather than a single line for "planning fees".

Fees for a single plot against a small scheme

The single plot case is worth isolating because self-builders often assume a householder-style fee applies. It does not. A new dwelling on a garden plot is charged at the dwellings rate, not the extension rate, and the difference is substantial. The utility and infrastructure costs that follow are covered in our note on utility connection budgets for a single new dwelling.

How the cap works on large schemes

The cap is an absolute maximum for the category, so above a certain number of dwellings the fee stops rising. On a large scheme the application fee becomes a minor line in the budget, dwarfed by the evidence base.

Be careful about assuming the cap covers everything. It applies to the category, and other chargeable elements can sit outside it: reserved matters, condition discharge requests, variations, and any separate application for advertisement or listed building consent. A scheme at the cap can still generate a long series of smaller fees over its life.

There is also a separate service charge for applications submitted through the national online portal, payable in addition to the planning fee. Check the current amount when you budget, because it is easy to miss when comparing a quoted total against the schedule.

Paying for a resubmission

The regulations allow one further application without a fee in defined circumstances, commonly described as the free go. It turns on the earlier application having been decided or withdrawn, on the same site, for development of the same character or description, by the same applicant, within a set period.

Three cautions. An application that was never validated was never entertained, so it does not use up the allowance. A scheme redesigned substantially may not be of the same character, and the authority decides that. And the allowance is once, so using it on a minor revision leaves nothing for the version that follows. Our note on the cost of failing validation and resubmitting works through the wider arithmetic.

Checking the fee before you submit

Do this as a discrete step rather than as part of form filling.

1. Take the current fee schedule from the published regulations or the national fee guidance, and note the date of the version you are using
2. Identify the category your application falls into, in the schedule's own words
3. Count the dwellings created, or measure the application site area in hectares, from the drawings you are actually submitting
4. Do the arithmetic and write it down, including the band boundaries you crossed
5. Check whether another category could also apply, and how the regulations treat that
6. Add the portal service charge and any separate consent fee
7. Keep the calculation in the file, so a validation query can be answered in one email

That last step saves more time than it takes. Most fee disputes are resolved by showing the working, and an application returned over a fee query costs weeks rather than money.

As an illustrative example, a self-builder with a single plot in a garden, submitting a full application, pays the per dwelling amount once plus the portal service charge, then a condition discharge fee for each pre-commencement condition, and possibly a section 96A fee if the window arrangement changes during construction. Four separate payments across a project most people budget as one.

For the supporting documents those applications need, the 66 report types by category is the quickest reference, and drafting costs are set out on the pricing page.

This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. Planning fees are indexed annually and the schedule is amended from time to time, so always take the current published figures. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.