Planning Permission for Log Cabins in the UK in 2025

If you’re thinking about putting a log cabin on your land, whether it be to live in, as a garden office, or anything else, you need to know if planning permission is required before you start.

Planning Permission For Garden Cabins

If your log cabin is going in your garden rather than on a separate plot of land, you are less likely to need planning permission. The key phrase being ‘less likely’; there are still a few factors that you’ll need to take into account:

• For a dual-pitched roof (or apex roof), it can be no more than 4 meters high, or 3 meters for any other roof type

• The eaves height is 2.5 metres or less.

• It is at least 2 meters away from the outer perimeter of your garden, otherwise, the maximum height is 2.5 metres.

• The cabin cannot cover 50% or more of the garden area surrounding your house.

• It should only be for incidental uses, such as a garden office, shed, studio etc. If it’s for a holiday let or to be rented out, then you will usually require permission.

These are the general rules of thumb, but your local council may have some other rules up their sleeve. Always check with them before you get started. You can find more information on your local requirements through the UK Planning Portal.

Planning Permission For Residential Log Cabins

If you want to build a residential log cabin or even a series of them, you will almost always need planning permission (sorry!). There are some cases where you won’t need it, but that will be down to your local planning office.

This is not something to be ignored, we’ve heard all the horror stories of huge projects that have gone up, only to then be taken down after a visit from the local planning authorities! I’ll leave the cost of it all up to your imagination…

How To Get Planning Permission

Planning permission can be a bit of a pain, so only apply for it if you need it. Most councils have a service that will tell you whether you need it or not. We’d recommend going through that process as it can save you a lot of time and headaches.

If you need planning permission, then you’ll need to submit an application to your local council. Just type ‘apply for planning permission in {insert your location}’ into Google, and it should be pretty obvious from there. If you’re stuck, you can always reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help, even if you don’t end up buying from us. 

You’ll need to provide: 

• Drawings of your proposed cabin

• Details of how you plan on using it

• It’s impact on the surrounding environment

 The application form will include everything that you need to attach to the application, so just follow the steps to a tee and you should be set.

Planning permission will usually take around 8 weeks for smaller projects, and 13-16 weeks for larger ones. These timelines can be extended, sometimes because you haven’t submitted everything that you should have, sometimes for reasons that are out of your control. However, to try and make it as smooth a process as possible, give the local planning authorities everything they need the first time of asking.

If your application gets denied, you should be given a reason why. If you disagree with the reason, then you will have up to 6 months to appeal the decision. The letter stating that your application has been rejected will also include instructions on how you can appeal.

The planning permission process is confusing and sometimes frustrating, so if you’ve made it this far then I hope it’s given you some clarity on your next steps to getting your log cabin. 

We’re always happy to help if you have any further questions, reach out to us at info@diygardenhomes.com.

May the decisions of local planning authorities forever be in your favour!