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Loft Conversion Approval Rates in Hillingdon

Loft conversions change your roofline — and that makes them one of the more closely scrutinised application types. Councils scrutinise visibility, overlooking and street character more closely than for ground-level work. Here's what the data shows in Hillingdon.

499 real decisions·January 2020 to September 2026·Updated September 2026
74.3%
Approval Rate
499
Decisions
371
Approved
128
Refused
74.3% approved. But 128 refused since 2020. Each refusal cost the homeowner time and money on drawings and application fees. Understanding your local data before you apply is the difference between confidence and a costly gamble.

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Why loft conversion approval rates matter

Loft conversions face more scrutiny than rear or side extensions because they change the property's profile from the street. Dormers, mansards and hip-to-gable alterations are particularly sensitive.

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

Two houses on the same street can get different outcomes.
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How loft conversions compare to other project types

Not all applications are treated equally. Here's how loft conversions stack up against other common projects in Hillingdon.

TypeDecisionsRate
Basement478
85.6%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion2,324
84.1%
Extension (General)2,028
83.8%
Conservatory882
82.5%
Garage / Parking7,653
81.9%
New Build1,677
81.4%
Outbuilding2,696
81.1%
Dormer5,000
79.4%
Rear Extension10,344
78.5%
Wraparound Extension1,031
76.9%
Change of Use (Residential)1,497
74.7%
Loft Conversion499
74.3%
Flat Conversion920
73.7%
Side Extension4,902
71.9%
Front Extension1,080
66.4%
HMO352
58.2%
Annex130
42.3%
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What the data tells us

1
74.3% of loft conversion applications in Hillingdon get approved. That means 128 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
3
Council averages are starting points, not guarantees. The decisions that matter most are the comparable ones near your specific property — because planning officers look at precedent, character and the immediate context of your street.

Before you spend £5,000+ on architects and drawings

128 loft conversion applications in Hillingdon have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A free, property-specific report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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More Hillingdon planning data

Nearby councils loft conversion data

Methodology: Based on 499 planning decisions classified as loft conversions in Hillingdon, January 2020 to September 2026. Classification uses keyword matching against proposal descriptions (matching generate_site_data.py rules). A single application may appear in multiple categories. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid applications excluded. Data from Hillingdon Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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