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Havering, London

Loft conversion drawings in Havering

Havering is a borough of houses: 76.7 per cent of households live in a house and 69.5 per cent own their home. That makes loft conversion drawings, from £695 including VAT, a mainstream request here. The council also decides householder cases quickly, with 97.8 per cent inside the target.

From £695 (VAT included)

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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 loft conversion drawings

    Nine 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.

    8. Building regulations

      Technical drawings are coordinated with the structural engineer's calculations, the drainage and the planning conditions.

    9. Approval and hand-over

      Building control approval, then a next-steps pack covering the commencement notice, party wall timing and CIL.

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

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    Slate-clad roof extension on a yellow-brick London terraced house

    Two Havering guides and a recent plan

    Havering publishes a Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD and a Heritage SPD. The first is the reference for roof extensions and dormers on ordinary houses, and the second for anything near a protected building. We read both before drawing, because they use different tests for the same roof.

    The borough-wide framework is the Havering Local Plan 2016-2031, adopted in 2,021. It is recent enough to reflect national policy on design and sustainability, so officers expect a submission to show how the loft relates to its surroundings and not just list measurements.

    Our elevations therefore show the neighbouring houses on both sides, which is usually the first thing an officer wants to see.

    For a family house the practical result is that a rear dormer set well back from the eaves, with materials to match the existing roof, is the pattern that reads best under both documents. A front-facing change is harder to justify, which is why it is also the part of the national allowance that does not apply.

    Converted loft bedroom with roof windows and a Juliet balcony

    Local figures for Havering

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas11 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area53 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries146 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house76.7 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Owner-occupied households69.5 % of households owner-occupied (owned outright or with mortgage/loan)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)578 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder decisions985 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted85.9 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time97.8 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class B, para B.1(d)40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume—legislation.gov.uk
    Class B, para B.1(c)No enlargement beyond the plane of a roof slope that forms the principal elevation and fronts a highway—legislation.gov.uk
    Class B, para B.1(f)Class B roof enlargements are not permitted development on article 2(3) land—legislation.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 Havering
    Loft enlargement in section: the permitted development limitsExtra roof volume allowed: 40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume. Set-back from the eaves: Original eaves maintained; enlargement set at least 0.2 m from the eaves measured up the roof slope, so far as practicable (not required for hip-to-gable or roofs joining a rear/side extension). Height limit: No part higher than the highest part of the existing roofABC

    Loft enlargement in section: the permitted development limits

    A dormer on the rear slope, with the limits that decide whether it needs planning permission.

    A · Extra roof volume allowed
    40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume
    B · Set-back from the eaves
    Original eaves maintained; enlargement set at least 0.2 m from the eaves measured up the roof slope, so far as practicable (not required for hip-to-gable or roofs joining a rear/side extension)
    C · Height limit
    No part higher than the highest part of the existing roof

    Green Belt, trees and few conservation areas

    Over half of Havering, 53 per cent, is Green Belt. The designation does not remove the permitted development volume allowance for a loft inside an existing roof, and it rarely affects a standard conversion.

    Conservation areas are comparatively few, at 11, and Historic England lists 146 entries. That means most Havering houses can at least be tested against the national limits, and a loft is more likely here than in inner London to be a straightforward certificate case.

    Farmhouses and older cottages on the rural edge are different. Their roofs may be timber-framed, may hold bat roosts and are more likely to be listed, and we survey and plan them separately.

    In the large estates built after the war, loft conversions are common, and a quick look at the street usually shows a handful of neighbours who have already gone up. We photograph them and, where a planning application is needed, cite them. Precedent on the same street carries more weight than any statement we could write.

    Certificates and the road to a lawful loft

    Havering dealt with 578 lawful development certificate applications in the latest twelve months, so many owners here prove lawfulness before building. A lawful development certificate in Havering tests the loft against the volume, front slope, height and balcony limits.

    The drawings for a certificate must be precise, with the original roof outline, any earlier additions and the new volume shown. If the design exceeds the limits, we adjust it, or take it forward as a planning application using the same survey, through our planning drawings in Havering.

    Timing matters for a certificate as well as for planning. We prepare the survey and drawings at the start, so that the volume calculation, which is the usual stumbling block, is checked by us twice before the council sees it.

    A quick council and what that gives you

    The council decided 985 householder applications in the latest year, granted 85.9 per cent and decided 97.8 per cent in time. That helps a family trying to plan a builder's start date, though no decision date is ever certain.

    The average Havering home sold for about 448,648 pounds in the latest figures, against 251,321 pounds for a flat. With larger houses and generous plots, lofts here are often combined with an extension at the rear, and we can draw both together.

    The structure is the other half of the job. Most Havering houses have trussed or cut roofs, and new floor joists, steel and a staircase opening all need to be sized by an engineer from our drawn dimensions, which is why accuracy in the survey saves cost later on site.

    What you receive and nearby boroughs

    The Havering set has existing and proposed floor plans, a stair and roof section, elevations and the location and block plans, from £695 including VAT. Comments from the council are dealt with by us without extra charge.

    To see roof shapes in more detail, read our page on dormer loft conversion drawings in Havering. Neighbouring pages include Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham. The complete list of services is under architectural drawings in Havering.

    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.
    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window
    Storey by storey
    Move up and down — the car travels between floors.

    Other services in Havering

    Loft conversion drawings nearby

    Questions

    Is a Havering loft often permitted development?

    Often, yes. With few conservation areas, many houses can use the national allowance, and a certificate confirms it.

    Which Havering guidance applies to extensions?

    The Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD, together with the Havering Local Plan 2016-2031.

    How much are the drawings?

    From £695 including VAT, fixed in advance.

    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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