Start by identifying the country and local authority, then check planning rules and building-control rules separately. A project can need both: planning permission addresses whether and where development is acceptable, while building regulations approval or building consent addresses technical and safety requirements. Exemptions are conditional, so check the exact work and site rather than relying on a size threshold alone.
First identify the rules that apply to your property
“Planning permission” and “building consent” are not interchangeable terms. Planning permission is the relevant phrase for the planning route discussed here; New Zealand uses “building consent.” In England, the separate technical approval is called building regulations approval. The specific steps below cover England and Aotearoa New Zealand. Other UK nations have separate systems, and local rules may add requirements in either country.
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Before asking whether approval is needed, gather:
- The property’s country, address and local authority or council.
- The building’s type and use, including whether it is a home, commercial premises or multi-unit building.
- Any known listed, heritage, conservation or protected-site status.
- A clear description of the work: dimensions, height, position on the site, structural changes, change of use, and services affected.
These details matter because rules include conditions and exceptions; a single dimension or a broad description such as “small extension” cannot settle every case.
Check planning permission separately
England: ask whether the proposal is permitted
GOV.UK says new construction, a major change such as an extension, or a change of use will probably need planning permission. The local planning authority (LPA) is the place to check the proposal for the property and site.
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Some household work may fall within permitted development rights, but those rights are conditional. Check every relevant limitation and condition in the official technical guidance. In England, rights may have been removed or restricted by an Article 4 Direction or a condition on an earlier planning permission. If there is doubt, ask the LPA rather than assuming the work is permitted.
If you need formal certainty that a proposal is lawful and does not require a planning application, you can ask the LPA about applying for a lawful development certificate. Keep in mind that this addresses planning lawfulness; it does not replace a separate building-regulations check.
New Zealand: ask the council about planning constraints too
Building consent and planning are separate questions in New Zealand. Ask the council whether the district or regional plan imposes requirements for the proposal, including whether resource consent or another permit may be needed. A building-consent exemption does not, by itself, establish that a project meets planning or other local requirements.
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Check building control or building consent as a second question
England: check building regulations approval
GOV.UK states: “Building regulations approval is different from planning permission. You might need both.” Building regulations approval concerns technical requirements. GOV.UK identifies construction and extensions, along with work such as electrical changes, bathrooms involving plumbing, fixed air conditioning, replacement windows and doors, roof coverings, heating systems and added radiators, as examples to check. The examples are not exhaustive, so ask a building control body if the position is unclear.
For ordinary work, the guidance identifies local-authority building control and private registered building control approvers as routes to check. Some work to a higher-risk building instead requires Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approval before work starts, subject to listed exceptions. GOV.UK’s 2026 guidance describes higher-risk buildings as at least 7 storeys or 18 metres high and also meeting a listed occupancy or use category: at least 2 residential units, a hospital or a care home. Confirm the current scope and exceptions with the regulator before relying on this description.
New Zealand: test the work against consent rules and exemptions
MBIE’s Building Performance guidance says all building work in Aotearoa New Zealand must comply with the Building Code, and that building consent is often needed. Use MBIE’s “Can I Build It?” checker and Schedule 1 exemption guidance for the actual work, then confirm with the local building consent authority, usually the council.
MBIE lists these as examples of work to check with the council:
- Structural work, including additions, alterations, re-piling and some demolitions.
- Creating an additional sanitary fixture or relocating a building.
- Installing a woodburner or air-conditioning system.
- Some earthworks and certain structures subject to size or height limits.
MBIE’s summary, last updated 15 January 2026, gives these thresholds as entry points for checking the detailed conditions—not as automatic permission decisions:
| Work | MBIE summary threshold to check |
|---|---|
| Retaining wall | Higher than 1.5 metres; or higher than 3.0 metres in a rural area if designed by a chartered professional engineer. |
| Fence or wall | Higher than 2.5 metres. |
| Deck, platform or bridge | More than 1.5 metres above ground. |
| Shed | Greater than 30 square metres. A shed between 10 and 30 square metres may still require an LBP or engineer, or qualifying lightweight material. |
Schedule 1 of the Building Act exempts some low-risk work from building consent when statutory conditions are met. Some exempt work still requires qualified or licensed professionals, and exempt work must still comply with the Building Code. MBIE says the owner remains responsible for deciding whether the exemption applies and ensuring compliance. A council may advise; you can also consult an appropriately registered professional, such as an architect, chartered professional engineer, building surveyor, building consultant, or LBP with the relevant class.
MBIE also describes an exemption for qualifying standalone new dwellings of up to 70 square metres. It has specific design and construction conditions and requires licensed-professional involvement; it does not mean every dwelling below that area is exempt. Check the current MBIE guidance and conditions for the particular proposal.
Check for approvals and constraints beyond the main two
Planning permission and building-control approval may not be the only issues. Depending on the location and work, check whether any of the following apply:
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- Listed-building consent or other heritage controls.
- Tree-protection requirements.
- Party-wall matters or private rights affecting neighbouring property.
- Local-plan, district-plan or regional-plan requirements, including a possible resource consent in New Zealand.
- Other local permits or restrictions identified by the relevant authority.
Bristol City Council gives a local example of these separate checks. Its guidance should not be treated as a national rule; ask the authority responsible for the property which additional requirements apply.
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Use this sequence before committing to the work
- Pin down the jurisdiction and site. Record the address, country, authority, building use and any known heritage or conservation status. Do not apply England’s permitted-development rules in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
- Write down the precise proposal. Include dimensions, height, location, structural changes, changes of use and affected services. Gather drawings or specifications if available.
- Ask the planning question. Contact the LPA in England about planning permission or permitted development. In New Zealand, ask the council about applicable district or regional plan rules and resource consent.
- Ask the technical-approval question. In England, check building regulations guidance and consult a building control body. In New Zealand, use MBIE’s checker and exemption guidance, then confirm with the building consent authority.
- Check other constraints. Ask the authority about heritage, trees, party-wall issues, private rights and other local permissions relevant to the site.
- Get suitable help where needed. Structural complexity, uncertainty about an exemption, or a need for confidence before spending or starting are good reasons to consult the authority or a suitably qualified and registered professional.
- Keep the decision trail. Save written authority responses, drawings, specifications, the guidance version and date checked, and copies of approvals or exemption evidence.
Do not treat an informal answer about one approval as confirmation that every other approval is unnecessary. Ask the authority to be clear about which regime its response covers.
What can happen if required approval is missing?
In England, GOV.UK warns that work carried out without required planning permission can lead to an enforcement notice requiring changes to be undone. Building regulations are a separate matter, so check them independently rather than assuming planning approval settles compliance.
In New Zealand, MBIE says doing non-exempt building work without consent is unlawful. Its guidance gives a maximum fine of up to $200,000, with a further maximum of up to $10,000 for each continuing day or part-day. These are stated maximum penalties, not a prediction of what will happen in an individual case.
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A quick self-check can identify which authority and guidance to use, but it may not resolve an ambiguous project or site condition. Contact the LPA, building control body or New Zealand council when conditions, exceptions or local constraints are unclear. If formal certainty is important before purchasing, commissioning drawings or starting work, ask whether a certificate or other formal decision is available for the question you need answered.
Choose the next step based on how certain you need to be before committing money, how structurally complex the work is, whether site protections apply, whether an exemption requires licensed professional involvement, and whether an authority can issue a formal decision. The applicable authority or a suitably qualified professional can help interpret the relevant rules; there is no universal answer based on project size alone.
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