What you need to know about getting planning permission to build an extension

Moving home can be an expensive, difficult, not to mention stressful, venture. And with house prices stagnating, and a shortage of affordable homes to go round, it’s no surprise that plenty of people are opting to extend instead of putting their homes on the market and finding somewhere else to live. As the saying goes; if you can’t move, improve.  But applying for planning permission can have its pitfalls too, so with that in mind, what do you need to know before seeking that all-important go-ahead for your upsizing project? It depends on where you live You will almost certainly need permission before you can add any kind of extension onto your home. However, where you live exactly will determine what kind of permission you need to obtain, and how tricky the process will be. If you live centrally, you’re going to have to jump through a lot of hoops. In the suburbs, you probably only need a building permit. Decide what you want doing You’ll need to find out what is possible and what isn’t. The simplest approach is to decide what you want and then see if you can get permission to do it. If you are going to alter any services such as electricity or plumbing, then you will definitely need approval but you may not need planning permission. You may also need to consider something called heritage overlay as this will affect what you can do with your property. A town planner will be able to assist you with this kind… Read More