Satellite dishes and antennas under Class H
Two dishes on a house under 15 metres, within size limits, sited to minimise their appearance, and removed when no longer needed. That is Class H in a sentence.
Class H of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 permits the installation, alteration or replacement of an antenna on a dwellinghouse or within its curtilage, within limits on number, size, height and position. For an ordinary house the working summary is two antennas, each within a size limit, none projecting above the highest part of the roof, and all of them sited so they are as unobtrusive as the reception allows.
The order has been amended over the years and the detail repays checking against the current consolidated text before an installation on a sensitive property. What follows is the shape of the rules and the points that decide most cases.
Number and size
The permitted number depends on the height of the building. On a dwellinghouse of 15 metres or less, which covers almost every house, the allowance is two antennas. Taller buildings are allowed more.
The count is cumulative across the house and its curtilage. A dish already on the rear elevation and an aerial on the chimney together consume the allowance, so a third installation needs planning permission even if each individually would be modest.
Size is measured across the antenna in any linear dimension, excluding any projecting feed, arm or mounting. The permitted dimension is larger on taller buildings. There is also a limit on the cubic capacity of each antenna, which rules out bulky enclosures rather than ordinary domestic dishes.
Measure before ordering. A dish specified as 100 centimetres nominal may measure more across the rim.
Position and height
No part of an antenna installed on a roof may exceed the highest part of the roof. Where an antenna is installed on a chimney, it must not exceed the highest part of the chimney, and there is a limit on how far it may project above the chimney stack.
The consequence is that a dish mounted on a pole above the ridge to clear a tree is outside Class H, which is exactly the installation people most often want. Reception problems are not a reason the order recognises.
Curtilage mounting is permitted within the same overall allowance, and a pole in the garden is often the cleaner answer on a constrained roof, subject to the same limits.
Installers are not planning advisers and should not be treated as such. The trade works to reception first and appearance second, and the person who signs the order is the one who receives any enforcement notice. Ask for the proposed position and dimension in writing before the appointment, and check them against the limits yourself.
Protected land and elevations facing a highway
In a conservation area or a World Heritage Site, an antenna is not permitted where it would be installed on a chimney, wall or roof slope that faces onto, and is visible from, a highway.
Read that as three conditions together. The surface has to face a highway, the antenna has to be visible from that highway, and the property has to be on the protected land. A dish on a rear roof slope in a conservation area is normally fine. The same dish on the front is not.
Highway includes the pavement, so visibility is judged from where a person actually stands.
Corner and end of terrace properties are the awkward ones. A flank wall facing a side street is a surface facing a highway, which removes the position most installers would otherwise choose. On those houses the workable answers are usually a rear slope, a curtilage pole screened by the boundary, or an application.
Article 4 directions add another layer. Councils use them across conservation areas to remove householder rights, sometimes naming antennas specifically, and the direction has to be checked on the council's constraints mapping.
The two conditions attached to the right
Class H is one of the few householder rights that carries conditions on how the installation behaves after it is fitted.
The first is siting. An antenna must, so far as practicable, be sited to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building. That is a genuine obligation rather than an aspiration, and an installer who puts a dish on the front because the van is parked there has not complied.
The second is removal. An antenna must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable once it is no longer needed for receiving or transmitting communications. Redundant dishes on terraced frontages are one of the most common enforcement complaints conservation officers receive.
Where Class H does not reach
Listed buildings are outside it, and listed building consent is required for works affecting the character of the building. On a listed property, discuss the installation with the conservation officer first, and expect to be steered to a rear or curtilage position. Where the works form part of a larger scheme, a heritage statement explaining the significance of the building and the effect of the proposal is what the council will want.
Scheduled monuments are excluded, as is any structure within their protection.
Enforcement in this area is complaint driven and it is slow, which leads people to assume the rules are not applied. Conservation area officers do act, particularly where a street of terraced frontages starts to accumulate dishes, and the remedy is usually removal at the owner's cost. A dish that has been in place for a long period may have become immune from enforcement, and that depends on the time limits current when the breach began rather than on any figure quoted from memory.
Flats are outside Part 1 altogether. So are houses where permitted development rights have been removed by condition, which is common on newer estates.
And Class H is a householder right. Antennas installed by electronic communications code operators, including mobile masts and street cabinets, sit under a different part of the order with a different regime, so do not read across between the two.
Confirming the position
- Count every antenna already on the house and in its curtilage.
- Measure the proposed antenna in its largest dimension, excluding projections.
- Confirm no part would exceed the highest part of the roof, or of the chimney if mounted there.
- Check whether the property sits in a conservation area or World Heritage Site, and whether the mounting surface faces and is visible from a highway.
- Check for an article 4 direction and for conditions on the original planning permission.
- Apply for a certificate under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 where the position matters at sale.
Illustrative example: a mid-terrace house in a conservation area, with an existing television aerial on the chimney. The owner wants a satellite dish. The front roof slope faces the street and is visible from it, so a front installation is not permitted development. A rear slope position is proposed, below the ridge, at 60 centimetres across, bringing the total to two antennas. Class H is satisfied and no application is needed. This example is illustrative.
Where an installation falls outside Class H, the application is small. PlanScope drafts a planning statement structured to UK planning policy, with site facts flagged where they need confirming. Enter your postcode on the PlanScope home page to see what a householder application on your property is likely to need.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
How many satellite dishes can I have without planning permission?
On a dwellinghouse not more than 15 metres in height the usual limit under Class H is two antennas in total, counting everything already installed on the building and within its curtilage. Taller buildings have a higher allowance. Check the current text of Class H before relying on a number, because the order is amended from time to time.
Can I put a dish on my chimney?
Sometimes, with restrictions. Where a chimney installation is permitted at all, the antenna must not exceed the highest part of the chimney and there is a limit on how far it may project above it. In a conservation area or World Heritage Site an antenna is not permitted on a chimney that faces onto and is visible from a highway.
Do the rules apply to flats?
Class H sits in Part 1 of Schedule 2, which applies to dwellinghouses, so a building containing flats is outside it. Antennas on blocks of flats fall under different provisions with their own limits, and a leaseholder will usually need the freeholder's consent as well. Check the lease before checking the planning position.
What happens if I no longer use the dish?
Class H carries a condition requiring an antenna to be removed as soon as reasonably practicable once it is no longer needed for the reception or transmission of communications. Redundant dishes left on frontages are a common enforcement complaint in conservation areas, and removal is the usual outcome.
Does a listed building need consent for a dish?
Yes. Listed building consent is required for works affecting the character of a listed building, and an external antenna almost always does. Class H does not apply to listed buildings in any event. Carrying out the work without consent is a criminal offence, so speak to the conservation officer before ordering an installation.
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.