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Loft Conversion Approval Rates in Merton

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 Merton.

3,839 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
89.9%
Approval Rate
3,839
Decisions
3,453
Approved
386
Refused
89.9% approved. But 386 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.

Loft Conversion approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
1Abbey55
100.0%
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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 Merton.

TypeDecisionsRate
Conservatory288
93.1%
Basement573
91.3%
Loft Conversion3,839
89.9%
Garage / Parking2,106
88.7%
Wraparound Extension470
88.5%
Dormer2,346
88.3%
New Build1,232
87.7%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion1,151
86.8%
Extension (General)874
86.6%
Side Extension1,898
84.9%
Change of Use (Residential)1,149
83.9%
Outbuilding1,002
82.8%
Flat Conversion873
82.8%
Rear Extension5,617
81.5%
Annex101
79.2%
Front Extension229
78.2%
HMO174
55.7%
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What the data tells us

1
89.9% of loft conversion applications in Merton get approved. That means 386 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

386 loft conversion applications in Merton 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 Merton planning data

Nearby councils loft conversion data

Methodology: Based on 3,839 planning decisions classified as loft conversions in Merton, 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 Merton Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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