Planning applications are public. You can see what has been applied for at the property itself and what is proposed nearby — which is how you find out about the flats going up behind the garden before you exchange, not after.
How to do it
- Search the address to see applications at the property. A refused or withdrawn application tells you what the council would not accept.
- Widen the search to the surrounding streets to catch proposals that would affect outlook, parking or noise.
- Read the decision notice, not just the status. Conditions attached to a permission can be onerous and they run with the land.
- Check whether any work you can see was actually permitted. Unauthorised work is a real problem to inherit, and the seller's solicitor will be asked about it.
- Check separately for constraints that limit what you could do later — conservation area, listed status, Article 4 direction, tree preservation orders.
Councils publish on their own portals with their own quirks, and national aggregators can lag or miss applications. For anything that matters financially, check the local authority's own register too.
Check it yourself, free
Planning applications near any postcode — no account, no email wall.
Sources
Related
- Will nearby development affect my property value?
- Planning applications tool
- What is an Article 4 direction?
- Planning and constraints hub
Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. We check these against the linked official sources and re-date the page when they change.