Running a business from a garden room: salons, clinics and planning

By the Garden Room Guide Team · Updated

The short answer

Working at a desk in a garden office is fine. A salon, clinic, studio or any business with customers or staff visiting is not covered by the garden room exemption and needs planning permission, even if the room is under 30 m². Councils do grant permission for small home businesses, often with conditions on hours, client numbers and signage.

On this page
  1. Where the line is
  2. Why a salon needs permission
  3. Applying for a home business
  4. Rates, insurance and building standards
  5. Already running a business there?
  6. Common questions

Where the line is

Three bands. Usually fine: working from home for your employer, freelance desk work alone, an online shop run from a laptop, your own art or music. Grey area: an occasional client meeting, someone working with you, storing stock with deliveries, one-to-one lessons. Needs planning permission: a hair, nail or beauty salon, therapy or clinic room, fitness classes or personal training, dog grooming, a shop or showroom.
Where common home businesses usually fall. Your council decides each case.

A garden room is exempt only for uses connected with enjoying the house as a home. Working there yourself is part of living in the house. Customers arriving, staff, deliveries, signage and parking make it a business premises in its own right.

Why a salon needs permission

A salon or treatment room changes how the house is used: people come and go through the day, park on the road and walk down the side of the house. That affects neighbours, so the council wants to assess it. The building may be exempt, but the use isn't.

People do get caught out. In one Kerry case, a homeowner applied to retain a log cabin used temporarily as a hair salon, with a plan to use it as a garden room afterwards.

Applying for a home business

The application is the same as any planning application: drawings, newspaper and site notices, a decision within 8 weeks. What helps:

  • Describe the business clearly: type of service, opening hours, clients per day and whether anyone else works there.
  • Show where clients park and how they get to the room without going through the house.
  • Keep it small and quiet: one chair or treatment couch, appointment only, no signage.
  • Talk to neighbours first. Objections are more likely if they hear about it from the site notice.

Councils often attach conditions such as limited hours, a cap on clients, no advertising signs, and a permission that is personal to you, so it ends if you sell or stop trading. Expect them, and plan around them.

Rates, insurance and building standards

  • Commercial rates: homes are exempt, but property used for business can be rateable. A separate building used as a salon may be valued for rates. Ask your council's rates office before you open.
  • Insurance: home insurance usually doesn't cover a business with customers. You'll need business and public liability cover.
  • Building standards: a building used by the public can bring in Building Regulations on fire safety, access and ventilation. Ask your architect or engineer.
  • Plumbing: a salon basin needs water and waste. See garden room plumbing.
  • Electrics: dryers, straighteners and heaters draw a lot of power. Tell the electrician what you'll run. See electrics.

Already running a business there?

If you're already seeing clients in a garden room without permission, you can apply for retention permission, scale back to a use that's exempt, or ask the council for a Section 5 declaration if you think it's borderline. See retention and your options.

Common questions

Do I need planning permission for a hair salon in my garden room?

Yes. A salon with customers coming to the house is a business use, not a use connected with enjoying your home, so the garden room exemption doesn't cover it. You need planning permission, even if the room itself is under 30 m² and otherwise exempt.

Can I work from home in a garden office without planning permission?

Yes, if it's desk work for you, whether for an employer or yourself, with no customers or staff visiting. That is a use connected with your home, so a garden office that meets the size and position rules is exempt.

Can I see the odd client in my garden office?

An occasional meeting is a grey area. Regular appointments, staff or signage move it towards a business use that needs permission. If you're unsure, ask your council for a Section 5 declaration.

Will I pay commercial rates on a garden salon?

Possibly. Commercial rates are charged on property used for business, while homes are exempt. A separate building used as a salon with customers may be rateable. Ask your council's rates office.

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