The great extension slowdown
Four years of official planning data say Britain's "improve, don't move" boom is over. Householder decisions in England have fallen every year since 2023 — and extensions are falling faster than planning as a whole.
Analysis of MHCLG quarterly planning statistics, Q1 2023 – Q1 2026. All figures England only.
Executive summary
The boom narrative no longer matches the data
Since 2020 the received wisdom has been that British homeowners were choosing to improve rather than move — extending and converting instead of selling up, pushed along by home working, a stamp duty holiday and cheap money. We tested that story against four consecutive years of government planning statistics.
It doesn't hold. Householder planning activity — the extensions, loft conversions and conservatories that defined the boom — has fallen in every year since 2023, and the most recent quarter shows no recovery. The decline is nationwide and it is steeper than the slowdown in planning overall.
| ✓ | A third fewer in three years. Councils decided 33,500 householder applications in Q1 2026, against 46,600 in Q1 2023 — a fall of 28%. |
| ✓ | Extensions are falling faster than everything else. Householder work has slipped from 53% of all planning decisions to 49% over the same period. |
| ✓ | Every region is down. Applications received fell year on year in all ten English planning regions in Q1 2026, from −4% in the West Midlands to −15% in the South West. |
| ✓ | Borrowing is still nothing like 2020. Bank Rate has been held at 3.75% since December 2025 — well below its 5.25% peak, but many times the near-zero rates that underwrote the renovation rush. |
01 — The data
Four Januarys, four falls
MHCLG publishes quarterly statistics on planning applications in England, including a specific category for householder developments — extensions, loft conversions, conservatories, porches and similar work within the curtilage of a home. Comparing the same January–March quarter across four years strips out seasonality and leaves the underlying trend.
|
46,600
|
39,800
|
36,200
|
33,500
|
| Q1 2023 | Q1 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q1 2026 |
Householder development decisions, England, quarter ending March. Source: MHCLG Planning applications in England statistical releases, 2023–2026.
| Quarter | Householder decisions | Share of all decisions | Year on year | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | 46,600 | 53% | −14% | 89% |
| Q1 2024 | 39,800 | 50% | −15% | not stated |
| Q1 2025 | 36,200 | 51% | −9% | not stated |
| Q1 2026 | 33,500 | 49% | −7% | 91% |
Grant rates are shown only where the quarter's release states them for householder developments specifically. Note the last column: refusals are not what is driving the fall — nine in ten householder applications are still granted, and the Q1 2026 rate of 91% is the highest of the four years. Fewer people are applying, not more people being turned down.
By Q1 2026, councils were deciding a third fewer extensions and loft conversions each quarter than three years earlier.
The annual figures tell the same story with the quarterly noise removed: 151,900 householder decisions in the year to March 2026, against 210,000 in the year to March 2023 — down 28% on exactly the same measure.
02 — The comparison
Extensions are falling faster than planning as a whole
It isn't simply that everything is quieter. Total planning applications received across all categories fell 17% between Q1 2023 (96,000) and Q1 2026 (79,600) — a real decline, but a shallower one than the 28% drop in householder decisions over the same period.
Householder work has also shrunk as a share of what councils decide, from 53% of all decisions in Q1 2023 to 49% in Q1 2026. Homeowners are pulling back from discretionary improvement specifically, and faster than the wider system is slowing.
03 — Corroboration
The permitted-development route is thinning too
Not every extension needs planning permission. Larger single-storey rear extensions can go through the lighter-touch prior approval route instead, so it is worth checking whether homeowners have simply switched channel. They haven't. Total prior approval applications in England fell from 6,000 in Q1 2023 to 5,200 in Q1 2026, and large householder extensions fell as a share of them, from 57% to 53%. Both routes are pointing the same way.
04 — Region by region
A nationwide cooling, not a regional one
Every English region recorded a year-on-year fall in applications received in the quarter to March 2026. The South West saw the steepest drop at −15%; the West Midlands held up best at −4%.
| South West |
|
−15% |
| East Midlands |
|
−13% |
| South East |
|
−12% |
| East of England |
|
−9% |
| London |
|
−9% |
| North West |
|
−9% |
| Yorkshire & the Humber |
|
−8% |
| National Parks |
|
−8% |
| North East |
|
−7% |
| West Midlands |
|
−4% |
Applications received, all types, quarter ending March 2026 vs March 2025. Source: MHCLG, Planning applications in England: January to March 2026, Table 2.
One important caveat
This regional table covers all application types, not householder developments — MHCLG does not publish a regional householder split in the quarterly release. It is also specifically applications received. On applications decided, four regions actually rose year on year (North East +8%, Yorkshire & the Humber +2%, East Midlands and North West +1% each) as councils worked through their backlogs. The demand signal is falling everywhere; the throughput signal is not.
05 — Why
What plausibly stalled the boom
Borrowing is still expensive by 2020 standards
Bank Rate sat near zero through 2020–21 as the boom built, peaked at 5.25% in August 2023, and was cut by 1.5 percentage points between August 2024 and December 2025. It has been held at 3.75% at every meeting since, most recently on 30 July 2026 — cheaper than the peak, but nothing like the money that funded the rush.
The pandemic drivers have washed through
The stamp duty holiday and the sudden shift to home working both created one-off demand for extra space. Neither is live in 2026, and the pipeline of projects they generated has now cleared the system.
Household budgets are still under pressure
CPI inflation was 2.6% in June 2026, above the 2% target, and the Bank's July projection has it peaking near 3.2% in Q4. A five-figure extension is one of the most deferrable items in a household budget.
What this is and isn't. The planning figures above are measured; these three explanations are not. They are the most plausible drivers given the pattern in the data, but this report has not tested household-level borrowing or spending decisions against it. Read them as informed context, not proven cause.
06 — So what
What it means for homeowners and trades
If you're planning a project
A quieter market means less competition for good tradespeople, and more room to negotiate on price and timescales than there was in the 2021–22 rush. Approval odds remain strong: 91% of householder applications were granted in Q1 2026.
If you're a tradesperson
A market roughly a quarter smaller for extension-type work makes visibility where demand still exists more valuable, and makes a case for widening into repair, maintenance and smaller jobs, which are less discretionary than a big build.
If you're reporting on the market
"Improve, don't move" has been repeated in property and renovation coverage since 2021 without being re-tested. On the official numbers it stopped being true around 2023.
Methodology & sources
How we did this, and what we left out
This report is Bookabuilderuk's own analysis of publicly available UK government statistics. All planning figures come directly from MHCLG's quarterly "Planning applications in England" statistical releases for the quarters ending March 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, comparing like quarter with like quarter to control for seasonality. Bank Rate and inflation figures are from the Bank of England's July 2026 Monetary Policy Summary and the House of Commons Library's interest rate indicators briefing.
Two notes on limits. MHCLG re-imputes and revises earlier quarters with each release — the January to March 2026 publication refreshed the previous seven quarters — so year-on-year percentages quoted in older releases may not exactly reproduce from today's live tables. And figures on construction material costs and mortgage affordability were considered but could not be verified to our standards within scope, so they are left out rather than estimated.
- MHCLG, Planning applications in England: January to March 2026 — statistical release, published 19 June 2026. Householder decisions, regional tables, permitted development rights.
- MHCLG, Planning applications in England: January to March 2025, published 19 June 2025. 36,200 householder decisions, down 9%.
- MHCLG, Planning applications in England: January to March 2024, published 13 June 2024. 39,800 householder decisions, down 15%; 85,800 applications received.
- MHCLG, Planning applications in England: January to March 2023. 46,600 householder decisions at 53% of all decisions, 89% granted; 96,000 applications received.
- Bank of England, Bank Rate — maintained at 3.75%, July 2026 Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes.
- House of Commons Library, Interest rates and monetary policy: economic indicators. Rate path, 5.25% peak, CPI 2.6% in June 2026.
About Bookabuilderuk
Bookabuilderuk is one of the UK's fastest-growing online home services platforms, connecting homeowners with over 130,000 vetted tradespeople across the country. This report is part of our ongoing research into the trends shaping the UK home improvement market.
Published August 2026 · Press enquiries: press@bookabuilderuk.com · Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
