Contentar · Land and planning
Most container homes get stuck at planning, not on site.
For an independent home in England, yes: full planning permission from the council and Building Regulations approval. They are two separate processes.
The route: pre-application advice (optional, recommended), planning application (£610 for one house since April 2026), decision within 8 weeks, then building control (full plans or building notice), inspections and the completion certificate.
Building control for a new house costs, for example, £1,230 to £1,620 with VAT (2026/27). It can be the council or a registered building control approver.
Scotland: planning fee £742 and a building warrant. Wales: planning fee £667, and every new home needs sprinklers.
The Nationally Described Space Standard sets the minimum gross internal area of a new home, but only where the council has adopted it in its Local Plan.
1 bedroom, 1 person (shower room): 37 m². 1 bedroom, 2 people: 50 m². 2 bedrooms, 3 people: 61 m². 3 bedrooms, 4 people: 74 m².
Minimum ceiling height: 2.3 m over at least 75% of the floor area.