Class D – porches

The General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) allows for porches to be added on many homes without the need for any planning. Needless to say there are a couple of restrictions, which we will cover in this article.

You can add a porch to a house or a bungalow under permitted development. However this PD right does not apply to flats or maisonettes. 

All these permissions are contained within Part 1 of the GPDO and apply only to C3 houses. Porches should be allowable on C4 HMOs as these are described as dwelling houses in the Use Class order. Before starting work check to see if there any conditions that have been placed on your property. These are quite common on new build properties or maybe as a result of a previous planning approval. In those cases full planning permission might be required relevant to that condition or restriction.

Note that the legislation states that a porch can be constructed on any external door. That could include new doors that you might construct elsewhere on the property. The legislation does not specify what you use the porch for.

Where else can’t we benefit?

These permissions do not apply to flats or maisonettes. Nor do they apply to houses that have been converted from agricultural buildings, storage, light industrial, shops or casinos. They do however apply to houses (not flats) converted from offices under Class O.

There will be restrictions if the building is listed. if you are in a conservation area, AONB, Broads or Heritage site permitted development rights may have been restricted via an Article 4 in the area, so it is worth checking on the local authority website.. They might also have been removed as a result of a condition on a previous planning application. if you are not restricted then you can go ahead subject to the few limits on size etc.

Limitations of the porch

There are only three other basic requirements of a porch, as long as you do not exceed these or build too close to a road, then you are good to go…..

• the ground floor area (measured externally) would not exceed three square metres.
• no part would be more than three metres above ground level (height needs to be measured in the same way as for a house extension).
• no part of the porch would be within two metres of any boundary of the dwellinghouse and the highway.

Also see Permitted development rights for householders – Technical Guidance  

Legislation for a porch under permitted development

Permitted development

D. The erection or construction of a porch outside any external door of a dwellinghouse.

Development not permitted

D.1 Development is not permitted by Class D if—

(a) permission to use the dwellinghouse as a dwellinghouse has been granted only by virtue of Class G, M, MA, N, P, PA or Q of Part 3 of this Schedule (changes of use);
(b) the ground area (measured externally) of the structure would exceed 3 square metres;
(c) any part of the structure would be more than 3 metres above ground level; or
(d) any part of the structure would be within 2 metres of any boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse with a highway; or
(e) the dwellinghouse is built under Part 20 of this Schedule (construction of new dwellinghouses).

Page updated: 22nd March 2023