Brighton converts homes to HMOs at 2.7 times the national rate. Dormers run at twice the national rate too.
Brighton submitted 2,972 planning applications to Brighton Council in 2025 and the council approved 89.9% of those decided, above the national 87.6%. The stand-out figures are in the mix: HMO conversions made up 3.3% of all applications, 2.7 times the national share, and dormers made up 12.3%, twice the national rate. It is the application pattern of a dense coastal town short of space.
The year in one line
Brighton approves planning applications above the national rate, files HMO conversions at 2.7 times and dormers at 2.0 times the national share, and builds first without consent at 1.4 times the national rate.
What Brighton Is Building
Extensions lead, but HMO and roof conversions define the town.
Home extensions were the most common application type submitted to Brighton Council in 2025, at 27.1% of all applications, just under the national norm. The figures that set Brighton apart are conversions: dormers made up 12.3% of applications at 2.0 times the national share, loft conversions 4.8% at 1.9 times, and HMO conversions 3.3% at 2.7 times the national rate. This is the application mix of a dense coastal town finding space within and above existing homes.
Applications submitted to Brighton Council in 2025, by project type. Counts from pooled 2024-2025 data used for share calculations.
The conversion effect
Brighton files HMO conversion applications at 2.7 times the national rate, dormers at 2.0 times, and loft conversions at 1.9 times. In a tightly packed coastal town, space is found inside the existing home.
The council verdict
Above the national rate for approvals.
Brighton Council approved 89.9% of the applications it decided and refused 10.1%, about 1 in 10. The national refusal rate is 12.4%, so Brighton turns down fewer applications than most. Of applications with a decision, 2,173 were approved and 244 refused.
About 1 in 10 Brighton applications was turned down, below the national 1 in 8.
Brighton applications was refused, against a national refusal rate of 1 in 8. The council's approval rate of 89.9% sits above the 87.6% national norm.
Brighton vs The National Norm
An HMO and roof-conversion town, by the numbers.
Set Brighton's application mix against the national average and the conversion effect is clear. HMO conversions run at 2.7 times the national share, dormers at 2.0 times, and loft conversions at 1.9 times. Brighton also files retrospective applications at 1.4 times the national rate. The one area notably below the national share is demolition, at less than half the national rate, pointing to a town that adapts buildings rather than replacing them.
Brighton submits HMO conversion applications at 2.7 times the national rate and dormer applications at 2.0 times. In a dense town, the spare room is inside the existing building.
Each bar is Brighton's share of applications submitted to Brighton Council in 2025; the marker is the national share. HMO conversion is the town's sharpest outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Owners are not just adding roof space, they are adding it to homes that keep climbing in value. Brighton remains one of the pricier places on the south coast to own.
Brighton's planning data has a clear shape. It is a dense town that adapts its existing stock rather than knocking it down and starting again. HMO conversions run at nearly three times the national rate, dormers at twice, and loft conversions close behind. The council approves applications at above the national rate, so the process is broadly permissive. What stands out most is how owners are using that permission: squeezing more homes and more rooms out of the buildings already there.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Brighton Council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Shares computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for stability. National benchmarks are computed the same way.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, across applications with a decision. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Brighton post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications submitted to Brighton Council, from HMO conversions and dormers to retrospective work and extensions. Open any one to see its full record.
9 Fairdene, Southwick BN42 4QN
A side extension and a hip-to-gable roof extension were approved along with a new side dormer, the roof work Brighton submits at twice the national rate.
See this property's full record49 Hertford Road BN1 7GG
A loft conversion with front rooflights and a rear dormer was confirmed lawful, one of 152 loft conversion applications submitted in the period.
See this property's full record35 Withdean Crescent BN1 6WG
Roof alterations including hip-to-gable extensions and an enlarged dormer were granted, adding living space within the existing roofline.
See this property's full record3 Cowden Road, Saltdean BN2 8DD
A part-retrospective single-storey front extension, built before consent was sought, was turned down, one of roughly 1 in 10 applications refused.
See this property's full record8 Oxford Street BN1 4LA
A plan to change a commercial unit into a self-contained flat was refused at the prior-approval stage.
See this property's full record7 Water Dyke Avenue, Southwick BN42 4DF
A single-storey rear extension, the most common application type in Brighton, was approved.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Brighton?
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