The hardest places in England to renovate your home (2026)
By Housey · Data: planning.data.gov.uk (current) + MHCLG year ending March 2026
Ranked on Article 4 directions, conservation areas, approval rates and decision speed, Mole Valley comes out as the hardest place in England to renovate or extend — while homeowners in Fareham can more or less just get on with it. Where does your council sit?
- 296
- Councils ranked
- Mole Valley
- Hardest to renovate
- Fareham
- Easiest to renovate
- 480
- Most Article 4 directions
score 42/100
score 2/100
Southwark
| # | Local authority | Difficulty | Article 4 | Conservation areas | % granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mole Valley | 42.0 | 0 | 37 | 71.6% |
| 2 | Buckinghamshire | 42.0 | 0 | 186 | 84.5% |
| 3 | Dorset | 39.0 | 78 | 311 | 91.6% |
| + 290 more authorities — unlock the full ranking below | |||||
| 294 | North Tyneside | 3.0 | 7 | 17 | 96.8% |
| 295 | Blackburn with Darwen | 3.0 | 0 | 14 | 95.6% |
| 296 | Fareham | 2.0 | 0 | 13 | 97.6% |
Methodology & sources
Composite difficulty score (0-100) blending Article 4 directions + conservation areas (planning.data.gov.uk) with planning approval rate and non-major decision speed (MHCLG). Higher = harder to renovate or extend.
- Source: https://www.planning.data.gov.uk/
- Period: planning.data.gov.uk (current) + MHCLG year ending March 2026
- Data retrieved: 7 July 2026
- Authorities ranked: 296
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