Do I need a permit for installing my greenhouse or conservatory?

Just imagine – you have bought a brand new greenhouse and you are eager to give it a nice spot in your garden but... Can you just go ahead? Is it possible to build a greenhouse without a permit?

Free-standing greenhouse

No worries, in most cases the answer is ‘yes’. In Belgium, you can usually install a free-standing construction such as a greenhouse, garden room, shed or chalet without a building permit or notification obligation. At least as long as you respect the dimension limits.

In concrete terms, this means:

• that your construction must not exceed the following limits. The total area of free-standing outbuildings must not exceed 40 square meters. In other words: The area of all outbuildings combined must not exceed 40 m2. If you already have a 20-m2 garden room, shed or chalet covering 20 m2, you can only install a greenhouse covering an additional 20 m2. If you don't have any outbuilding in your garden yet, you're in luck! You can even easily install a Euro Plusser greenhouse measuring 6.26 m x 6.77 m.
  
• The ridge height (the highest point of the outbuilding) may not exceed 3.5 meters. You are safe in this respect with all our greenhouses.
  
• The greenhouse should be located within a 30-meter radius of your house. We remind you that building a beautiful greenhouse out of sight at a distance of more than 30 meters is disrespectful anyay. 
  
• Your greenhouse should be at least 3 meters from the boundary of your plot (side garden) or 1 meter (in a back garden). Otherwise, you risk a dispute with the neighbours.
  
• You should not use your greenhouse as a residential area. Of course you can put a floor in your hobby greenhouse, add a sofa and install atmospheric lighting, but installing a kitchen crosses the line.
  
• You can simply call the municipality. It is not compulsory, but if you want to be sure that you will not suddenly have an angry official from the housing inspection department at your door, you should inform your municipality of your plans. Of course, your local legislation may differ from the general Flemish version applicable in our area. It is possible that your municipality imposes special planning conditions (for example for an agricultural area), which means that you cannot just install any construction in your garden. In the end, it is your municipality that decides whether or not you are permitted to erect structures or extensions, so it is always best to check.

Do the Flemish rules apply and you meet all of the conditions we mentioned above? Yes! Then you are eligible for a so-called license exemption and can get started right away. And nobody can say anything about it. And that includes the neighbours.

But what if your situation does not meet all of these conditions or does your local municipality imposes stricter conditions? In this case, you need to apply for a permit. If not, you will commit a planning violation. Try browsing the omgevingsloket.be in Belgium, or the environmental information source of your municipality, and submit details of your project (and the necessary documentation). Once you have their response, you can still modify your plans.

https://www.omgevingsloketvlaanderen.be/losstaande...

Lean-to greenhouse

But what about a lean-to greenhouse, such as a conservatory or a veranda? We advise you to keep on reading. If you want to extend your home in any way, there are slightly different rules in play. In principle, you only have to notify to the municipality that you actually want to build a conservatory against your home. This means that you only have to inform your municipality before building the lean-to greenhouse. You do not need a building permit nor architect in most cases in Belgium.

So, inform the municipality about your plans and then go ahead. As long as:

• the total area of free-standing outbuildings does not exceed 40 m2. If you already have a 20-m2 of outbuildings, you can only install a conservatory covering an additional 20 m2. If you don't have any outbuildings yet, then there is more permitted space available for that beautiful winter garden extension on your house.
  
  
• The ridge height (the highest point of the outbuilding) may not exceed 4 meters. With all our conservatories, you are safe in this respect.
  
  
• You should keep the construction at least 3 meters (side garden and back garden) from your plot boundary. Otherwise, you risk a dispute with the neighbours.
  
  
• You may not make your conservatory into extra residential unit.
  
  
• Your municipality should be notified about your plans. There is little chance that you will have to apply for a permit if you keep to the previous points, but you never know. Construction regulations and conditions may vary from location to location.
  
  
• After your compulsory notification, the municipality has 30 days to check whether your veranda or conservatory construction meets the conditions. If you don't hear anything after 30 days, you may just start erecting.

• What if your construction bigger than 40 m2, or it doesn't meet one or more of the other conditions mentioned? In this case, you need to apply for a permit. So, apply for it in good time, to avoid a planning violation.

• Regulations and conditions may/will vary in other countries, so make sure you get information from your municipality.

Good luck building your conservatory !