Buying land without planning permission: what to check

Before buying land, check planning feasibility, title, access and project costs. open for offer lets you test the market before you list. A useful decision starts with evidence about the site and a proposal checked by the relevant professional advisers.

Land being available to buy does not mean a house can be built on it. Treat the purchase and the proposed development as connected decisions with separate evidence. Resolve the assumptions that would make the project unaffordable before committing.

What are you actually buying?

Ask for a clear plan identifying the land offered, the title documents and any information about rights, restrictions or existing agreements. Have a conveyancer explain them in relation to your intended use, rather than relying on a marketing outline.

HM Land Registry information can identify recorded ownership and rights. A title plan generally shows general boundaries. Your adviser should investigate any uncertainty about the site edge, access strip or land needed for services.

Walk the site with the plan where access is permitted. Record questions about entrances, fences, neighbouring buildings and visible services. Physical inspection helps you ask better questions; it cannot establish a legal right to use something.

Does the planning position support your idea?

For land in England, contact the local planning authority about the proposed development. A new building, major alteration or change of use will commonly need planning permission. Do not assume an exception applies to your project.

For land in Wales, use Welsh Government guidance and the relevant Welsh planning authority. England-specific routes and requirements should not be carried across the border without checking the Welsh position.

Read the planning history, decision notices, submitted plans and conditions. Ask a planning professional how the development plan and site constraints affect your proposal. A nearby approval is useful background, but it is not permission for this land.

Marketing description	What to request	What it does not establish
No planning permission	Planning history and advice on the intended use	That permission will be granted
Subject to planning	The precise sale terms and proposal	That an approval already exists
Permission claimed	Decision notice, approved plans and conditions	That every condition or other consent is satisfied
Architect's concept	Drawing status and the assumptions behind it	Planning approval or a fixed construction cost

In England, permission in principle is a particular route with a separate technical details stage. It should not be described as full permission to start building. Ask what approvals remain and who is responsible for securing them.

What if the land is a garden?

Garden land is one possible type of land enquiry. Existing domestic use does not establish that a separate house is acceptable. Ask advisers about the proposal, access, privacy, the retained home and the relevant planning policies.

The photograph illustrates the garden and outlook at Butterfield House in Brackenfield. The garden is illustrative context, rather than a separate plot for sale or an approved development site.

Can you legally and practically reach the site?

A visible entrance is not enough. Ask your conveyancer to establish the necessary access rights and restrictions. Ask the relevant professionals whether the proposed access can serve the development, including construction traffic and the eventual use.

Separate ownership, rights and engineering questions. The seller may own the plot while someone else controls the strip needed to reach it or connect services. Ask who must agree to the work and whether that agreement has been obtained.

Request written estimates for significant access work. Note assumptions about ground conditions, drainage, visibility, approvals and maintenance. A line on a concept drawing should not quietly become an uncosted obligation in your budget.

What could services and site conditions cost?

Ask how water, electricity, drainage and communications would reach the development. Identify the route, available capacity, required permissions and likely works. Get information from the relevant providers and advisers before treating a connection as available.

Distinguish an existing service near the boundary from a confirmed connection. A seller's estimate may be a useful lead, but request its basis and date. Where quotes are outstanding, record the uncertainty rather than inserting a reassuring allowance without evidence.

For a site in England, start with the long-term flood-risk service. It provides area information rather than a prediction for an individual plot. For Wales, use the Welsh services linked from that guidance and check locally.

Ask professionals which site investigations are needed for the proposal. Ground conditions, drainage, contamination and environmental constraints can change design and costs. Do not assume a general online map or an attractive photograph replaces site-specific investigation.

What should a useful land pack contain?

A useful pack connects the sales description to evidence. It should make it easy for a buyer and their advisers to distinguish confirmed information, professional opinion and unanswered questions. Missing information should be labelled clearly.

• A plan showing the land offered and the relevant title information.
• The planning history, decision documents and any proposal drawings, with their status.
• Known access and service information, with sources and dates.
• Available surveys, investigations and reports, including their scope and limitations.
• Clear sale terms and a list of work or enquiries still outstanding.

For sellers, commissioning drawings or planning advice may help explain a site's possibilities. It does not guarantee consent, buyer interest or a higher price. Choose the work around genuine buyer questions and the site's constraints, with a clear budget.

Explore selling your land with open for offer to discuss marketing and a supporting pack. Ask which services, professional appointments, costs and deliverables are included before agreeing a route.

How do you decide what to offer?

Write down the intended use, evidence obtained, unresolved risks and total project budget. Include acquisition, professional advice, investigations, permissions, infrastructure, building work and an appropriate allowance for uncertainty. Your advisers should help you test the assumptions.

If permission is essential to the purchase, ask your solicitor how the transaction could address that dependency. Do not rely on the phrase “subject to planning” without understanding the actual contract, responsibilities and consequences if consent is refused.

open for offer is the pre-market, the market that exists before a property is ever advertised. Browse land for sale, then request the available information and use your own professional advisers before committing.

Reviewed 2 November 2026. Planning differs between England and Wales. This checklist is an enquiry framework, not a planning assessment or legal opinion about a particular site.