Garden Room Permitted Development in Scotland

Many garden room company websites base their Permitted Development guides based on the rules laid out on England's Planning Portal. Scotland has slightly different rules than England when it comes to building a garden room under the Permitted Development rules.

This guide highlights the Permitted Development rules in Scotland for outbuildings.

Throughout the UK, Permitted Development rights are granted so that homeowners can make small alterations or slightly extend their home without the need to submit a lengthy planning application.

Scotland is often overlooked in the permitted planning descriptions provided online. However, it is important to note that there are some key differences in legislation north of the border compared with those in England.

As with other parts of the UK, Permitted Development in Scotland does not cover flats or maisonettes, so if you live in one and are planning a garden room, you will need to apply for planning permission.

As with all home improvement projects, the owner of the property is responsible for complying with relevant planning regulations. If you do not comply with the law, you may have to remove some or all of the work. So you need to be sure that your garden room supplier understands the differences between our nations.

Scotland's Permitted Development Rules for Garden Rooms

The mygov.scot website lays out the current Permitted Development rules for garden room buildings.

They state that a garden room can be built if:

  • it's located at the back of the house
  • it's not used as a separate home to live in
  • it, and any other development, does not take up half or more of the 'curtilage' – this means half or more of the grounds behind your home
  • it's not higher than 4 metres at the highest point
  • any part that's a metre or less from the boundary is no higher than 2.5 metres
  • the eaves (the part where the wall meets the roof) is no higher than 3 metres
  • if the land is in a conservation area or in the grounds of a listed building, the ancillary building has a footprint of less than 4 square metres

Source: mygov.scot

If you are planning a deck or veranda, there are rules

It is popular to extend a garden room with a deck or veranda. The mygov.scot website also lays out Permitted Development rules for decks.

They state:

  • it's located at the back of your house
  • the height of the floor level isn't any higher than 0.5 metres above ground level
  • the total height, including any attached structures or roof, isn't any higher than 2.5 metres above ground level
  • if it's within the grounds of a listed building or within a conservation area, the footprint doesn't exceed 4 square metres

Source: mygov.scot

Check with your local council before starting work

Before you build a garden room in Scotland, you should always check with your local council's planning department. Even if you comply with the Permitted Development requirements, you could still need to obtain additional permissions from the council.

As with all home improvement projects, the owner of the property is responsible for complying with relevant planning regulations. If you do not comply with the law, you may be issued with an enforcement notice and have to remove some or all of the work.

When choosing your garden room supplier, be sure to ascertain that they understand the differences between Scotland's and England's Permitted Development rules so that the garden room can be designed and positioned accordingly.

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