If you're doing electrical installation work in your home or garden in England or Wales, you must follow the building regulations. It's recommended to hire an installer who is registered with a competent person scheme (a registered competent person’) who can self-certify that the work meets the required standards.

Rendering or cladding the exterior walls of your house may fall under permitted development rights, meaning an application for planning permission is not required provided you meet certain limits and requirements set out in legislation.

If you live in a listed building, you will need listed building consent for any significant works whether internal or external.

If you live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Broads, you will need to apply for planning permission before cladding the outside of your house with stone, artificial stone, pebble dash, render, timber, plastic or tiles.

Outside these areas, cladding may be carried out without having to first apply for planning permission provided the materials are of a similar appearance to those used in the construction of the house.

If the new materials will not have a similar appearance to those previously used you will be required to submit an application for planning permission.

Read more about change to external walls on our common project.

‍

Bricking up an external door is classified as permitted development, meaning an application for planning permission is not required to complete the works. You will need to ensure that any materials used are of a similar appearance to the existing exterior of the house.

If you live in a listed building, then you will require planning permission and listed building consent for the change. In this instance it is best practice to talk to your local planning authority.

Find your local planning authority.

‍

If your proposal for planning permission or building regulations approval is solely for extensions or alterations to a disabled person’s house to improve access, safety or comfort then you are exempt from paying a planning or building control fee. Additionally, if you are providing means of access for disabled persons to public buildings you are exempt from any fee.

Note that for building regulations approval, you will only be exempt when applying to a local authority building control body.

Adding a permanent wheelchair ramp for access to a home is likely to require planning permission as it will permanently change the external appearance of the front of the house. If the application is solely for improving disable access to the building then the planning application will be exempt from a planning fee.

If you live in a listed building, you will have to apply for listed building consent for any significant works, whether internal or external.

All permanent wheelchair ramps must comply with Approved Document M of the building regulations which specifies the gradient, width and surfaces which should be used.

Read Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings.