Planning & FAQs
Planning permission and a building warrant are two different things. The notes below are a plain reading of the Scottish Government pages we link to. Your council decides what applies to your garden.
Do I need planning permission for a garden room in Scotland?
Often, no. The guidance on mygov.scot is about a shed, garage, greenhouse or similar building at a house. It applies where the home is a dwellinghouse: a house you live in that is not used for business.
Most of these buildings count as permitted development. The rules on that page are: it is at the back of the house; it, and any other development, do not take up half or more of the ground behind the home (the rear curtilage); it is not used as a separate home to live in; it is not higher than 4 metres at the highest point; any part that is a metre or less from the boundary is no higher than 2.5 metres; the eaves, where the wall meets the roof, are no higher than 3 metres; in the grounds of a listed building the footprint is no more than 4 square metres; in a conservation area the footprint is no more than 8 square metres.
If the building does not meet those rules, you need to apply for planning permission. Always check with your council. Other approvals can still apply, including a building warrant, permission from the landowner if you do not own the land, and listed building consent if the house is listed.
This is a plain reading of mygov.scot, last updated 6 August 2026. It is not a decision on your garden. The page also points you to the Scottish Government circular on householder permitted development rights for the legal wording.
Do I need a building warrant?
A building warrant and planning permission are different. You can need one, both, or neither.
The Building standards technical handbook 2022: domestic, section 0.5, says some work does not need a warrant. It must still meet the building standards. The handbook applies to a warrant submitted on or after 1 June 2022, and to work which does not need a warrant started from that date.
For a house, schedule 3 type 4 is a detached single storey building, ancillary to and within the grounds of the house, with a floor area of more than 8 square metres and not more than 30 square metres. That exemption does not cover a building within 1 metre of the house unless it is at least 1 metre from every boundary. It does not cover a building with a fixed combustion appliance, such as a wood burner, or a sanitary facility, such as a toilet or a shower. It does not cover a swimming pool deeper than 1.2 metres.
A larger room, or a room with a stove or a toilet, usually needs a warrant. A fixed stove usually needs a building warrant. Flats and maisonettes sit under a different type, with stricter distance rules. Ask the council if the property is not a house. This is a plain reading of the handbook table. The council decides.
Can I sleep in it, or use it as an annexe?
Using the building as a separate home to live in is not permitted development. That comes from the same mygov.scot page.
If you want a guest room, a bedroom, or an annexe, speak to the council before anyone builds it. Phone us and we will talk it through.
What do you build?
Garden offices, a workshop, garden bars, sensory rooms, and a family room. Decking and LED lighting go with a lot of them. We clad garages, including in black steel sheet. There has been an outdoor kitchen, and garden jobs that included concrete.
What cladding can I choose?
Cladding we have used includes red Grandis timber, composite in black, grey, walnut, antique and spiced cedar, and black steel sheet. Mixes include black with red Grandis, black with walnut, and grey with red Grandis. Timber has been finished with Osmo oil in an oak tint.
Tell us the look you want. Timber, composite, or black steel sheet. We will price that finish for your garden.
How much does a garden room cost?
Every garden room is different, so the cost depends on the size, specification, finish and requirements of the project. We quote from those details rather than a headline price. See what affects the price.
How long does a build take?
It depends on the room, the garden, and what else is in the job. We will tell you a time when we price it.
Do you do the groundworks and the lighting?
We take on full garden makeovers too, including concrete groundwork. One job in October 2026 is under way, and it is taking 35 tonnes of concrete.
LED light in the cladding, and inside the room, is part of the finish on a lot of the jobs.
What about decking and fences?
Planning permission is not the same thing as a building warrant. In the 2022 domestic handbook, schedule 3 type 19 is work associated with open raised external decking. The exemption does not cover decking higher than 1.2 metres, decking that forms part of an access the standards require, or decking that forms an escape route other than from a flat or maisonette.
Type 18 is a wall no higher than 1.2 metres, or a fence no higher than 2 metres. Fences can also need planning permission. Check with your council.
Which areas do you cover?
We are based in Wishaw. From here we build garden rooms across the whole of Scotland, including Motherwell, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Bellshill, Uddingston, Carluke, Lanark, Cumbernauld, Glasgow, Newton Mearns, Shotts and Livingston.
If your town is not on that list, phone us. We will say if we can take the job.
If you are not sure, phone us and we will talk it through. When you are ready, start a quote.