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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.

475 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
73.7%
Approval Rate
475
Decisions
350
Approved
125
Refused
73.7% approved. But 125 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
84.1%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion2,238
83.6%
Extension (General)1,957
83.0%
Conservatory832
81.9%
Garage / Parking7,547
80.9%
New Build1,644
80.0%
Outbuilding2,572
80.0%
Dormer4,830
78.4%
Rear Extension9,930
77.6%
Wraparound Extension947
75.8%
Change of Use (Residential)1,439
74.8%
Loft Conversion475
73.7%
Flat Conversion914
73.0%
Side Extension4,767
70.9%
Front Extension1,057
65.5%
HMO319
59.6%
Annex125
40.8%
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What the data tells us

1
73.7% of loft conversion applications in Hillingdon get approved. That means 125 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

125 loft conversion applications in Hillingdon have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A £79 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 475 planning decisions classified as loft conversions in Hillingdon, January 2020 to present. 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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