You will not usually require planning permission to install rooflights in your property, as long they remain within certain parameters and legal guidelines. We illuminate current regulations regarding rooflights and where you stand.
When will you require planning permission when installing rooflights?
In most cases, rooflights are considered an aesthetic change that sits firmly within your permitted development rights. However, this is only valid if they abide by the following:
- The rooflights cannot protrude more than 150 millimetres from the plane of the roof.
- No rooflights are allowed to be higher than the highest part of the roof.
- If the glass is side-facing, obscure-glazed glass is necessary.
- If the rooflight can open, it must be 1.7m above floor level.
If you stick within all of the above regulations, then it is unlikely that you will require planning permission for your new rooflights. However, there are certain situations which may affect this, including an Article 4.
Article 4s are issued by local councils, usually for buildings they deem to have historical or architectural importance, which place added restrictions on what changes you are allowed to make to your property without planning permission. We therefore recommend that you double check with your local council before installing rooflights; if you are located within a Conservation Area, your permitted development rights may also be different, so make sure that you double check your property’s status before proceeding.
Building Regulations
Whilst planning permission isn’t often necessary for rooflight installation, you will usually have to seek approval under Building Regulations. This is to ensure that the installation of a rooflight doesn’t compromise the integrity of the roof and cause a health and safety hazard, for example, if the rooflight is too heavy. The thermal performance of the new rooflight is also a factor.
Regulations require that any new additions to your building are suitably heat efficient and don’t exceed the highest U-value allowance.
All our rooflights only have a U-value of 0.83, putting them well within the acceptable allowance for thermal efficiency under Building Regulations. Browse our rooflights today!
