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Brent, London

Daylight and sunlight report in Brent

If Brent Council needs a daylight and sunlight report for your scheme, it expects the work to follow the BRE guidelines and to come from a suitably qualified professional. The report sits on Brent's full-application list rather than on every householder case. We confirm first whether your Brent address even needs one, and we name who will prepare it in the quote.

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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on daylight and sunlight reports

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Brent's validation guidance on daylight and sunlight

    Brent's validation notes put the daylight and sunlight assessment on the list for full applications, and they set two conditions. The assessment must follow the relevant BRE guidelines and criteria, and it must be carried out by a suitably qualified professional (BRE guidelines; suitably qualified in the table below). A hand-waved paragraph in a design statement will not do.

    That wording matters for house extensions in practice. A flat-roofed rear addition decided under householder rules rarely triggers it, but a full application for a rear block of flats, a two-storey wrap-around or a new house in a garden does. We read your application type first and only then decide whether to model.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Local figures for Brent

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Daylight/sunlight assessment must be undertaken by a suitably qualified professional using the relevant BRE guidelines and criteria; it is an item on the full-application list.BRE guidelines; suitably qualified—brent.gov.uk, Brent validation guidance notes (further information on validation requirements), p.8, 'Daylight / sunlight assessment'; list p.4
    Supplementary planning documentResidential Extensions and Alterations Supplementary Planning Document2025brent.gov.uk
    Households living in a house43.3 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Owner-occupied households38.4 % of households owner-occupied (owned outright or with mortgage/loan)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Article 4 directions39 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 direction areas162 Article 4 direction area polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas23 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries93 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused79 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted10 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted86.6 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Brent
    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    A borough of flats and terraces: whose windows are affected

    Only about 43.3% of Brent households live in a house or bungalow, and only 38.4% own their home. So an extension here is far more likely than in outer London to sit beside a converted flat or a purpose-built block, with habitable rooms at several levels facing your plot. Each of those windows is a separate test point, and a ground-floor flat's only living-room window is the one the officer will go and look at.

    For this reason we survey neighbours' windows floor by floor before the model is built, rather than assuming a single typical window per house.

    Larger home extension prior approvals in Brent

    Brent decided 79 larger home extension prior approvals as refused against 10 granted in the latest government return. Those applications turn on neighbour amenity, and light to the neighbour's rooms is part of that. Anyone planning a deep permitted-development extension here should treat the neighbour's window as the likely sticking point and test it early.

    If your plan is on that route, our prior approval drawings in Brent page sets out what the submission needs, and a short light test can sit alongside it.

    Design guidance and heritage designations to read alongside

    Brent's design advice for homes is in the Residential Extensions and Alterations Supplementary Planning Document, with the Brent Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document (SPD1) behind it, and basements are handled by the Basement Supplementary Planning Document. Brent also has 39 Article 4 directions covering 162 separate areas, 23 conservation areas and 93 listed entries. Where an Article 4 direction removes permitted development, the extension needs planning permission and the daylight argument can be made in the open rather than hidden inside a prior approval.

    Householder decisions are the common case: 879 in the year, with 86.6% granted.

    What a Brent submission should contain

    A report that meets the council's wording carries the model, a schedule of every neighbouring window tested, the daylight results before and after, sunlight results for the windows that face the right way, and a garden overshadowing study if the scheme sits close to an amenity space. Each number comes with a short plain explanation an officer can read in a minute.

    Where a figure misses the guide, we say so and set out the context: the Mayor of London's guidance accepts a flexible reading in built-up areas, and much of Brent is exactly that. A report that admits a small shortfall and explains it is more persuasive than one that claims nothing changed.

    Next step for a Brent address

    Send the postcode and a sketch to the team that prepares our planning drawings in Brent. We will say whether a report is required, advisable or wasted money, and quote a fixed sum if you do need one. Nearby, Ealing and Camden apply different tests.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Brent

    Daylight and sunlight reports nearby

    Questions

    Does Brent accept a report from a designer rather than a surveyor?

    Brent asks for a suitably qualified professional using the BRE criteria. We name the person preparing your report, and their qualification, in the fixed quote.

    Is a report needed for a householder extension in Brent?

    Not as a validation item, since the council lists it for full applications. An officer can still ask for light evidence if a neighbour's habitable window looks affected.

    Why are Brent prior approvals refused so often?

    Prior approval for a larger extension asks officers to weigh the effect on neighbours' amenity, and light to a neighbour's window is one thing they look at. Testing that window first avoids a late surprise.

    Does a basement need a daylight report?

    Not by itself. Basement light wells and front lightwells can affect windows above, and Brent's basement guidance covers the rest of the design.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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