Planning fees for new dwellings and the per unit bands
The fee for creating dwellings is charged per unit to a band boundary, then at a lower rate with an overall cap. Outline applications are charged on site area instead.
The planning fee for new dwellings in England is worked out per dwelling up to a band boundary, then on a flat amount plus a reduced per unit addition above it, with an overall cap. The structure sits in Schedule 1 to the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012, and the figures themselves move every April with indexation. So the arithmetic is stable and the numbers are not, which is why the fee a builder quotes from last year is usually wrong.
Get the figure right before submission. An underpaid fee is a validation failure, and the application sits in the invalid pile until the balance arrives, which costs more time than the money involved.
How the fee for dwellinghouses is structured
Category 1 of Schedule 1 covers the erection of dwellinghouses. For a full application, the fee is a fixed amount for each dwelling to be created, up to and including 50 dwellings.
Above 50, the structure changes. A flat sum applies for the first 50, and then a smaller amount is added for each additional dwelling beyond that number, up to a maximum fee that the regulations state. The reduced rate above the band boundary reflects the fact that the authority's cost does not rise in a straight line with unit numbers.
Two points catch people out. The fee counts dwellings created, so a conversion of one house into three flats attracts a fee for the net new units created under the relevant category rather than for the building. And a scheme that includes a replacement dwelling counts the new dwelling, with no credit for the one demolished.
The band boundary and the per unit addition
The band boundary at 50 dwellings matters for budgeting on a mid-sized site. Below it the fee is linear, so each extra plot adds the same amount. Above it the marginal cost of a plot drops sharply, and the cap eventually flattens the curve entirely.
That has a practical consequence for phasing. Splitting a 70 unit scheme into two applications of 35 units each costs more in fees than a single application of 70, because both applications pay the full per unit rate below the band boundary and neither reaches the reduced rate. Phasing has good reasons behind it, and fee efficiency is rarely one of them.
The cap is worth knowing for large schemes. Once the maximum is reached, further units add nothing to the application fee, although they add plenty to the evidence base behind it. Non-residential floorspace is charged on a different basis again, which full application fees by floorspace and site area sets out.
Outline applications and fees based on site area
Outline applications are charged on site area rather than unit numbers, because the number of dwellings is not fixed at that stage. The fee is an amount for each 0.1 hectare of the site area up to 2.5 hectares, and above 2.5 hectares a flat sum plus a reduced amount for each additional 0.1 hectare, again subject to a maximum.
Site area means the area of the application site shown edged red, not the developable area. Including a large field in the red line to secure an access strip can push the fee up a band, so draw the red line deliberately.
Where an outline application specifies a maximum number of dwellings, the fee is still calculated on area. The unit figure affects what the permission authorises, not what it costs to apply.
Reserved matters fees after an outline permission
An application for approval of reserved matters is charged as if it were a full application for the development in question. That surprises applicants who expect a nominal processing charge.
There is a limit on repetition. Once the total paid in reserved matters fees for a given outline permission reaches the amount that would have been payable for a full application covering the whole development, further reserved matters applications under that permission attract only the flat residual fee. Keep a running total across phases, because on a multi-phase outline the point where that switch happens is worth money.
Discharge of condition applications are charged separately per request, at a different rate for householder and other development. Submitting conditions in batches rather than one at a time is the obvious saving, and it reads better to the case officer too. Phased sites in particular benefit from planning the fee sequence early, as the outline and reserved matters fee position on a phased scheme sets out.
Where a mixed scheme attracts more than one fee
A scheme with houses above and commercial floorspace at ground level falls into more than one category of Schedule 1. The regulations do not simply add every applicable category together, and regulation 6 of the 2012 Regulations deals with how development falling within more than one category is treated.
Work the figure through the Planning Portal fee calculator and then ask the authority's validation team to confirm in writing before you submit. Validation teams calculate hundreds of these a month and will tell you within a day. A short email with the red line area, the number of new dwellings and the gross floorspace by use is usually all they need.
Where the application also involves a change of use, demolition in a conservation area or works to a listed building, those are separate consents with their own fee positions. Listed building consent and conservation area consent carry no fee, which people routinely forget when budgeting.
Indexation and the maximum fee cap
Planning fees in England are now indexed annually, with the adjustment taking effect on 1 April. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provided for fee setting and uprating, and the figures are published in the fees regulations as amended and reproduced in the Planning Practice Guidance on fees. The mechanism behind the April uprating matters more than any single year's number.
Never budget from a figure in an old article or an old quote. Check the current schedule on the day you fix the fee, and check it again if submission slips past the end of March. A scheme submitted on 2 April at last year's rate is invalid.
The free resubmission concession, where a second application for substantially the same development on the same site attracted no fee, has been changed by amendment. Verify whether it is available for your situation rather than assuming it, because its removal in some circumstances catches applicants who are used to a free second attempt after a refusal.
Working the figure out before submission
Do it in this order.
- Fix the red line boundary and measure the site area in hectares.
- Count the dwellings created, net of nothing, and note any that are replacements.
- Record the gross internal floorspace of any non-residential element.
- Identify the application type: full, outline, reserved matters, or a section 73 variation.
- Run the figures through the Planning Portal fee calculator against the current schedule.
- Email the authority's validation team with those four inputs and ask for written confirmation.
Then build the fee into the application budget alongside the supporting documents the validation list requires. On a new dwellings application that will usually include a Planning Statement, a design and access statement where the scheme is major or in a designated area, and whatever technical reports the constraints trigger. Those drafting costs are a larger line in most budgets than the fee itself.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
See PlanScope pricing if you are costing the supporting documents alongside the application fee.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is the planning fee for new homes charged per dwelling?
Yes, up to the band boundary at 50 dwellings. Each dwelling created attracts the same fixed amount. Above 50 a flat sum applies for the first 50 and a smaller amount is added for each further dwelling, subject to an overall maximum stated in the fees regulations.
How is an outline application fee calculated?
On site area rather than unit numbers. The fee is an amount for each 0.1 hectare up to 2.5 hectares, then a flat sum plus a reduced amount per additional 0.1 hectare above that, subject to a maximum. Site area means the area edged red on the location plan, not the developable area.
Do I pay a full fee again at reserved matters?
Broadly yes. Reserved matters applications are charged as if they were a full application for that development. Once the total paid across reserved matters applications for one outline permission reaches what a full application would have cost, later submissions under that permission attract only the flat residual fee.
When do planning fees change?
Fees in England are indexed annually, with the adjustment taking effect on 1 April. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provided for fee setting and uprating. Always check the current schedule on the day you fix the figure, and recheck if submission slips past the end of March.
Is there still a free resubmission after a refusal?
The free resubmission concession has been changed by amendment and is no longer available in every situation it once covered. Check the current fees regulations and the Planning Practice Guidance on fees before assuming a second application will be free, and ask the validation team to confirm in writing.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.