Maintenance and repair (permissions)

​Planning permission

You do not need planning permission for maintenance and repairs to your property, as long as:

• the work does not materially affect the external appearance of the property. For example, re-pointing walls using the same finishes is not a material change, but using a different material, or changing the roof tiles from clay to concrete is a material change. The re-cladding of a roof in natural slate, clay tiles or materials which match those being replaced, does not require planning permission

• the property is not registered as a listed building or place (LBP) or a potential listed building or place (pLBP) or is in a conservation area (CA). In these cases only minor repairs are allowed. These minor repairs must not affect the special interest for which the building has been protected and must be carried out only in the exact materials which already exist on the building. Nothing may be removed or replaced on a listed building without permission including the roof materials

Making an application - planning
Is my building or site listed? 

Building permission

You do not need building permission for maintenance and minor repairs, for example:

• redecoration
• routine maintenance
• replacement guttering
• making good (re-pointing brickwork or replacing floorboards)

You will need building permission if the repair work is more significant, for example:

•  underpinning a building
•  replacing windows and doors (except those undertaken by a FENSA registered installer)
•  installing a new flue or flue liner
•  renovation of a thermal element (re-covering of roof, re-plastering  etc)  

Further information about replacing windows and doors

The building owner and the builder should ensure that any replacements and/or repairs carried out to a building will not cause a danger to health and safety. In particular, you need to consider your proposal does not affect:

• flues from appliances
• any ventilation openings that serve any applian​ce
• ventilation requirements to existing rooms
• any existing escape routes

Making an application - building