What are the planning fees for an extension in 2026?

There are three statutory fees a homeowner is likely to meet, each fixed nationally and charged by the council when it receives the application. None depends on the size or cost of the work, and none is refunded if the answer is no. The table sets out what each one buys.

The Planning Portal service charge is not a statutory fee. It is what the Portal charges for submitting through its website, the usual way to apply in London, and it is added once per application whichever fee applies.

The fee follows the planning route, not the type of job. Work that is normally permitted development, subject to the limits checked in the report, needs no application and so no fee. A lawful development certificate at £274 is still worth having: it is the council's written confirmation, and a buyer's solicitor will usually ask for it when you sell.

A single-storey rear extension deeper than the standard permitted development limit, but within the larger allowance, goes through prior approval at £249. The council consults the neighbours and decides on the effect on them only. Anything outside permitted development, such as a mansard, a side extension in a conservation area, or a rear extension beyond the larger allowance, needs a householder application at £548.

A certificate is not needed for work that a prior approval or a planning permission already covers. It is on top in either case when a project mixes routes, for example an extension through prior approval and a rear dormer loft that is permitted development: the certificate fee is paid for the loft part. A conservation area or an Article 4 direction can move a job from one route to another, so check with the council before choosing.

No. Building control checks that the work meets the building regulations: structure, fire safety, insulation, drainage and ventilation. It is needed whatever the planning route, including for work that is permitted development. For a typical extension it costs £1,000 to £1,800, and for a loft conversion £1,050 to £1,700, including VAT.

There are two ways to buy it. The council's own building control team charges from a schedule it publishes and reviews each year, usually a plan check fee and an inspection fee priced by the floor area or the cost of the work. A private registered building control approver, once called an approved inspector, quotes for the job instead, and is often quicker to respond but can cost more. Either issues the completion certificate at the end. Because councils set their own building control charges, check the schedule on your council's website for the figure that applies to your house.

Most of the money spent getting to the start of building does not go to the council. Drawings are the largest share: an architect or designer prepares the planning drawings and then the building regulations package. A structural engineer designs the beams and foundations. A measured survey of the house usually comes first, and a few jobs need a tree, flood or heritage report to go with the application.

Party wall costs are a separate matter again. They arise under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, not planning law, when the work is on or near a shared wall. If a neighbour consents in writing, there is nothing to pay; if they dissent, you pay for the surveyors on both sides. Pre-application advice from the council is optional and is charged on the council's own schedule, not the statutory fees.

Because many of them were written before the fees last changed and have not been updated. Planning fees in England rose sharply in December 2023, again in 2025, and the figures on this page apply from 1 April 2026. A guide quoting an older figure was probably right when it was written.

Others mix up the fees. Some quote the householder fee for a job that only needs prior approval, leave out the Planning Portal charge, or fold building control into the planning figure. This page is dated, takes its figures from the fees regulations, and is updated with the rates whenever they change.

Every report adds the professional and council fees as their own lines, so the all-in total is what it costs to get the work designed, approved and signed off, not only built. For a typical single-storey rear extension with a good-quality finish, which goes through prior approval as a larger home extension, the fee lines are architect or designer £4,000 to £10,500; structural engineer £1,000 to £2,500; council prior approval fee £334; building control £1,000 to £2,000; party wall surveyors £0 to £6,000; Thames Water build-over agreement £0 to £1,000. Together they come to £6,500 to £22,500. The council line of £334 is the statutory fee with the Planning Portal charge.

For a rear dormer loft, which is normally permitted development, subject to the limits checked in the report, the lines are architect or designer £4,000 to £11,000; structural engineer £1,000 to £2,500; lawful development certificate £359; building control £1,000 to £1,500; party wall surveyors £0 to £6,000, coming to £6,500 to £21,500. The certificate line of £359 again includes the Portal charge. The party wall line is zero if the neighbours consent in writing, and the higher figure if two dissent. The report picks the fee from the route the engine finds for your address, so a conservation area or an Article 4 direction can swap one fee for another.

How much is a lawful development certificate in 2026?

For proposed work, £274 from 1 April 2026, which is half the householder application fee, plus the Planning Portal charge of £85 if you apply online. A certificate for work already built costs the full householder fee of £548. Councils aim to decide within eight weeks.

Is the householder planning fee the same in every London borough?

Yes. The householder fee of £548, the prior approval fee of £249 and the certificate fee of £274 are set nationally and apply in every council in England from 1 April 2026. What varies by borough is building control, pre-application advice and the time the council takes to decide.

Do I get the planning fee back if the application is refused?

No. The fee pays for the council to decide, not for a yes, and it is not returned if the application is refused or withdrawn. Whether a revised design pays the full fee again depends on the rules at the time, so check with the council before reapplying.