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Cornwall Terrace beside Regent's Park, a long cream stucco Regency terrace with a colonnade of columns and tall sash windows
Photograph: ell brown (CC BY 2.0)

01Planning

How much does retrospective planning cost in London?

A retrospective planning application for a London house costs from £845 inc survey with us, or £200 less if you supply measured drawings, with no VAT to add, plus the council's own fee, which is £548 for a householder scheme. The Act allows you to apply once the building is finished.

From £845 inc survey (£645 if you supply measured drawings)

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    Write to us before 3pm and we reply the same working day. Redraws are free until approval.

    What the fee covers

    A retrospective application is drawn from what exists, so the survey does the heavy lifting. From £845 inc survey we measure the work as built, draw the plans and elevations to match it, prepare the forms with the work shown as already built and write a short statement explaining why the work is acceptable.

    Where the house differs from the approved plans, we show the difference clearly, so the officer sees what changed. Typical cases are an extension built larger than approved, or a loft built but never applied for.

    What to budget for work already builtSurvey, drawings and statement: £845 inc survey; Council fee, householder planning: £548; Changes the council requires: priced by your builder; VAT on our fee: none to add£Survey, drawings and statement£845 inc survey£Council fee, householder planning£548£Changes the council requirespriced by your builder£VAT on our feenone to add
    The council fee is paid to the council, in line with its national table from 1 April 2026.

    Is it lawful to apply after building?

    Yes. The Town and Country Planning Act says planning permission may be granted for development already carried out, or carried out without complying with a condition. It is an everyday route, not a last resort.

    What matters is how you present it. National policy says that evidence that unauthorised development was intentional should be given substantial weight, so an application that explains what happened and why the result is acceptable is stronger than one that hopes the officer will not look.

    A narrow period house on Heath Street in Hampstead with a bay window, pale green render and a small front garden
    A narrow Hampstead house: on a tight plot a rear addition built a few centimetres over can change a neighbour's outlook.Photograph: Images George Rex, CC BY-SA 2.0

    How long before the council can act

    Time limits for enforcement are set by law. For building operations the council now has ten years, a period lengthened by a change that came into force on 25 April 2024. That is a long time, which is why a buyer's solicitor may ask about old work.

    The council may also decline to determine an application that covers matters in an enforcement notice already issued. If you have received a notice, tell us first, because the order of events changes the advice.

    What comes after a decision

    A householder application is decided in eight weeks as a target. If it is refused, the appeal clock is 12 weeks. Our planning appeals service starts at £495.

    Sometimes the council grants permission subject to changes, such as obscure glazing or a lower roof. We tell you early which changes are likely, because they are cheaper to plan for than to rebuild.

    A second-floor plan laid out on a drawing board with a parallel rule, pens and a scale
    As-built and as-approved plans laid side by side: the difference between them is the story the application tells.Photograph: netan, CC BY 2.0

    Start with a free check

    Send the address, what was built and when. We check the history and the constraints and say what we would do. Read about our retrospective planning service for the sheets we produce.

    Putting work on the recordFree check of history and rules; Fixed fee in writing; Measured survey of what exists; Drawings and statement; Application made for youi

    Free check of history and rules

    ii

    Fixed fee in writing

    iii

    Measured survey of what exists

    iv

    Drawings and statement

    v

    Application made for you

    Redraws are free if the officer needs changes.

    The figures, with sources

    1. s73A

      Planning permission may be granted for development already carried out.

      Source: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 73A, checked 17 Oct 2026

    2. 10 years

      Time limit for enforcing against building operations, after the 2024 change.

      Source: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 171B, checked 17 Oct 2026

    3. s70C

      Council may decline to determine an application about matters in an earlier enforcement notice.

      Source: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 70C, checked 17 Oct 2026

    4. DM8

      Policy giving substantial weight to evidence that unauthorised development was intentional.

      Source: National Planning Policy Framework, checked 15 Oct 2026

    5. £548

      Fee for a householder application to regularise work on a single dwelling.

      Source: Ribble Valley Borough Council, national fee table from 1 April 2026, checked 17 Oct 2026

    6. 8 weeks

      Statutory target for deciding a householder application.

      Source: Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34, checked 15 Oct 2026

    7. 12 weeks

      Period to appeal a householder refusal, from the decision notice.

      Source: Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 37, checked 15 Oct 2026

    Questions

    Will the council make me knock it down?

    Only if it refuses the application and takes enforcement action, which is its choice. Applying promptly and showing why the work is acceptable is the usual first step.

    Do I need building regulations as well?

    Often, yes. Work already built may need a regularisation application; see our regularisation drawings service.

    Can you survey work that is already finished?

    Yes. The survey is how we record what is there, and it is included in the price.

    What if I got permission but built something different?

    That is a common case. We draw the as-built scheme against the approved plans and the application explains the difference.

    The fee for retrospective planning application

    Retrospective planning application

    from £845

    inc survey (£645 if you supply measured drawings). No VAT to add.

    Get a fixed quote from £845

    What you get

    • A measured survey recording what is built, included
    • As-built plans and elevations
    • The approved plans compared against what exists
    • A short statement for the case officer
    • Free redraws until approval
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London

    s73A

    Planning permission may be granted for development already carried out. Source: legislation.gov.uk

    Photograph: Lorenc Memaga

    02Guides

    More guides

    Kensington street lined with brick townhouses and lit streetlamps beneath an orange dusk sky

    Send us the address of your house.

    We look up the conservation area, listing and Article 4 position, then reply with a fixed fee. A message before 3pm is answered the same working day.

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    What Does Retrospective Planning Cost in London? £845