Removing a load-bearing wall: permissions, calculations and neighbours

Updated 29 September 2026

Knocking two rooms into one is one of the most common reasons homeowners hire a structural engineer. The wall is holding something up (floors, another wall, sometimes the roof), so taking it out means putting a beam in its place, sized for the load it will carry.

Do I need planning permission?

Usually not. The Planning Portal says: “You do not need planning permission to move internal walls” (Planning Portal).

The exception is a listed building. You need listed building consent to alter a listed building “in a way that affects its character or appearance”, and Historic England advises speaking to your council’s Conservation Officer first (Historic England). Historic England’s National Heritage List shows whether a building is listed.

Do I need building control approval?

Yes. The Planning Portal is direct about it: “Removing a load bearing wall will require building control approval as it is altering the structure of the property”, and “You will be required to provide a report from a structural engineer who will provide structural calculations” (Planning Portal).

You can use your council’s building control service or a private registered building control approver (GOV.UK). There are two ways to apply (GOV.UK):

• Full plans: the most thorough route. Building control checks the drawings and calculations before work starts, with a decision expected within 5 weeks (or 2 months if you agree).
• Building notice: for smaller projects. Work can start 2 days after you submit it, but there’s no formal approval of plans, so any problem is found on site.

Each town page on this site shows how your council takes applications.

What the structural engineer does

The engineer works out what the wall is carrying and specifies:

• the beam (usually steel, sometimes timber or concrete) and its size;
• what the beam’s ends sit on (padstones or new piers) and whether the foundations under those points can take the load;
• often, how the structure should be supported while the wall is removed.

The Planning Portal advises that a structural engineer or surveyor can tell you whether a wall is load-bearing, and that it’s advisable to speak to one before starting any work (Planning Portal). For typical fees, see what a structural engineer costs.

Telling your neighbours: the Party Wall Act

If the work affects a wall you share with a neighbour (cutting into a party wall to seat a beam is a common example), the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies. You must give your neighbours notice in the way the Act sets out (GOV.UK):

• at least 2 months’ notice for work to a party wall or party structure;
• at least 1 month’s notice for a new wall on the boundary, or for excavating near a neighbour’s building.

The Act is separate from planning permission and building regulations, so one doesn’t cover the other.

A sensible order

1. Check whether the building is listed or in a conservation area.
2. Get a structural engineer to confirm the wall is load-bearing and design the beam.
3. Apply to building control (full plans is safer for most wall removals).
4. Serve party wall notices if a shared wall is involved.
5. Book the builder, and have building control inspect the work and issue a completion certificate.

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