- Planning authority
- London Borough of Enfield
- Postcodes
- EN1, EN2, EN3, N9, N14
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater London
What the council will look at in Enfield
In Enfield, applications for a new home in a garden are decided by the London Borough of Enfield, which weighs them against the council’s Local Plan and national policy. Officers look at access, privacy, daylight, parking, bins, drainage and how much garden is left for each house, and neighbours can comment during consultation.
We read the local policies and any design guidance before drawing a line, and check the planning history of nearby plots for decisions that show how the council has applied them. If the policy picture is uncertain, pre-application advice lets us test the scheme with officers before the formal application goes in.
From first call to decision
Getting started in Enfield takes one step from you: send your address and a few photos of the garden, or call us. We check the title plan, access and planning constraints from our desk, then talk the plot through. If it looks viable we arrange a visit, discuss whether you want to sell, let or keep the new home, and set out the survey and design stage in writing before you commit.
Free plot appraisal
We check the title plan, access, constraints and planning policy from our desk, talk the plot through with you, and visit if it looks viable. There’s no cost and no obligation.
Survey and design
A measured survey records levels, boundaries, trees and neighbouring windows. We then design a layout and house that suit the plot, the street and your budget, and decide whether pre-application advice is worth seeking.
Planning and approvals
We submit the planning application and manage it to a decision, then deal with conditions, Building Regulations approval, the structural warranty, any build-over agreement and the new utility connections.
Handover
You receive the completion certificate, warranty documents, Energy Performance Certificate, manuals and utility details, so the new home is ready to move into, let or put on the market.
Worth checking early
- Your own garden gets smaller and the new home will be visible from your house, so screening and separation matter for both homes.
- You fund the build and carry the cost risk; ground conditions, sewer diversions or supply upgrades found later can move the price.
- A build next door means months of noise, deliveries and contractors near your home; good planning reduces the disruption but doesn’t remove it.
Your questions, answered for Enfield
Do new homes in Enfield need a structural warranty?
If the house will ever be sold or mortgaged, in practice yes. Mortgage lenders usually expect a 10-year structural warranty on a new home, though some accept an architect’s or surveyor’s certificate, and a warranty provider inspects the work at stages during the build, so it has to be in place before construction starts. Building control approval is separate and also required; a buyer’s solicitor will ask for both.
Can I build a house in my garden in Enfield and keep the land?
Yes. On our design and build route you remain the owner while we design the home, apply to the London Borough of Enfield for planning, deal with Building Regulations and build it. The finished house can be sold, let or kept for family. Whether your plot can take a house depends on access, space, neighbours and local policy, and the decision rests with the council.
How long does planning take for a new home in a Enfield garden?
The statutory period for deciding a minor application, such as a single new home, is 8 weeks from the date the council receives a valid application, in both England and Wales. In practice many applications take longer, and the council may ask you to agree an extension in writing. Surveys and design before submission add time, and conditions may need approving afterwards.
Can I build a house in my Enfield garden and then sell it?
Yes. You keep the land while the home is built, then sell the finished house. Before building starts, the plot should be given its own title through a transfer of part at HM Land Registry, and if your house is mortgaged your lender must agree to release the plot. Selling a home you’ve built can change your tax position, so take advice from a tax adviser first.
Other options in Enfield
- Build a home for family in your garden
- Corner and side plots
- Tandem and landlocked plots
- Planning permission for a garden plot
- Planning promotion for your garden plot
- Garden plot option agreement

