Planning permission checker: Scotland
Your shed, cabin, summerhouse or garden sauna against the outbuilding rules for Scotland; each result names its paragraph.
Result for Scotland
Likely permitted development
6 of 6 rules within the limits
Building standards: no building warrant needed
Schedule 3, type 4
- Within the rules: Height 2.4 m, within 1 m of the boundary: limit 2.5 m 3A(2)(e) Limit 2.5 m You 2.4 m
- Within the rules: Eaves 2 m: limit 3 m 3A(2)(c) Limit 3 m You 2 m
- Within the rules: Footprint 9 m²: no size limit outside listed buildings and conservation areas 3A(2)(g), 3A(2)(h) Limit 4 m² You 9 m²
- Within the rules: Not forward of a wall facing a road 3A(2)(b)
- Within the rules: Development covers no more than 50% of the front or back garden 3A(2)(f)
- Within the rules: Use incidental to the house 3A(1), 3A(2)(a)
All 342 listed garden buildings that state a height likely need no planning permission in Scotland even close to the boundary, going by their height and eaves (height up to 2.5 m within 1 m).
Section: house, garden building and boundary
Drawn to scale from your height and eaves; the distance to the boundary follows your answer, the dashed line is the height limit that applies.
No part within 1 metre of the boundary of the curtilage may be higher than 2.5 metres.
3A(2)(e)
This is a check against the national rules, not legal advice. Your council may have removed permitted development rights for your area or your house, and a deck or platform is a separate class with its own limits. If in doubt, ask your council's planning and building standards teams before you build.
Rules for outbuildings in Scotland
From Class 3A of Part 1, Schedule 1 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, as amended up to 2024. A building that meets every condition needs no planning application. Heights are measured from the ground next to the building, other dimensions on the outside.
| Rule | Paragraph |
|---|---|
| No part within 1 metre of the boundary of the curtilage may be higher than 2.5 metres. | 3A(2)(e) |
| No part may be higher than 4 metres. | 3A(2)(d) |
| Eaves height must not exceed 3 metres. | 3A(2)(c) |
| No part may be forward of a wall forming part of the principal elevation or side elevation where that elevation fronts a road. | 3A(2)(b) |
| Development must not cover more than 50% of the front or rear curtilage, not counting the original house, hard surfaces and decks. | 3A(2)(f) |
| Within the curtilage of a listed building, the footprint must not exceed 4 square metres. | 3A(2)(g) |
| In a conservation area, the footprint must not exceed 8 square metres. | 3A(2)(h) |
| The building must be for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the house and must not be a dwelling. | 3A(1), 3A(2)(a) |
Building standards
Planning permission and building standards are separate. In Scotland, a small building in the garden of a house is either exempt from the building regulations (Schedule 1, type 17) or needs no building warrant but must still meet the building standards (Schedule 3, type 4). A shower, sink or toilet, or a stove, takes it out of both:
| Exemption | Paragraph |
|---|---|
| A detached single-storey building in the garden of a house is exempt, except a building over 8 m², within 1 metre of the house unless at least 1 metre from any boundary, with sleeping accommodation, or with a flue, a fixed combustion appliance installation or a sanitary facility. | Schedule 1, type 17 |
| A detached single-storey building of more than 8 m² and not more than 30 m² in the garden of a house needs no building warrant, but must meet the building standards, except a building within 1 metre of the house unless at least 1 metre from any boundary, or with a fixed combustion appliance installation or a sanitary facility. | Schedule 3, type 4 |
What is different in Scotland
- Scotland measures the boundary rule differently from England: the 2.5 m limit applies within 1 m of the boundary (3A(2)(e)), and the eaves may be up to 3 m (3A(2)(c)).
- A garden sauna with a wood-burning stove is not covered by either building standards exemption, so it needs a building warrant from the council (Schedule 1, type 17 and Schedule 3, type 4).
Other nations
Each nation of the UK has its own order for permitted development (all four side by side). Near the boundary:
- England: height up to 2.5 m within 2 m of the boundary (Class E, E.1(e)(ii))
- Wales: height up to 2.5 m within 2 m of the boundary (Class E, E.1(f))
- Northern Ireland: eaves up to 2.5 m within 2 m of the boundary (Class D, D.1(d))
Buildings likely fine close to the boundary in Scotland: garden building finder (filter "Planning permission"). Garden saunas by power supply: sauna finder.