Leeds refuses 1 in 6 planning applications. That is above the national refusal rate, and the city builds first and asks later at 1.4 times the norm.
Leeds received 7,499 planning applications submitted to Leeds Council in 2025. Of the applications decided, 17.0% were refused against a national refusal rate of 12.4%, making Leeds a tougher council to win permission from than most of the country. HMO conversions ran at 2.4 times the national rate, and 5.3% of applications were retrospective, filed after work was already done.
The year in one line
Leeds refuses 1 in 6 applications, above the national rate, and its mix leans on home extensions, demolition and HMO conversions, with a built-first retrospective rate well above the norm.
What Leeds Is Building
Extensions dominate, with demolition and HMOs close behind.
Home extensions were the most common application, at 30.6% of the total, above the national share of 29.1%. Demolition followed at 11.1%, and dormers at 8.8%, above the national figure of 6.0%. HMO conversions accounted for 2.9% of applications, more than twice the national rate. Listed-building works ran at 3.5% of applications. This is the application mix of a large city converting and adapting its existing housing stock.
Applications submitted to Leeds Council in 2025, by project type. Counts are from the analysed sample used for category shares.
The standout type
HMO conversions run at 2.4 times the national rate, the sharpest divergence in the mix and a marker of a city with a deep rental market. Dormers also run above the norm at 1.5 times the national share.
The council verdict
A harder yes than most.
The council approved 83.0% of the applications it decided and refused 17.0%, well above the 12.4% national refusal rate. That is a settled position: Leeds is consistently tougher to win permission from than the national average.
1 in 6 Leeds applications was turned down.
applications refused, against roughly 1 in 8 nationally. Leeds's refusal rate sits above the national norm, making this one of the country's more demanding councils.
Leeds vs The National Norm
A city reshaping its existing stock.
Set Leeds against the national average and several categories run well ahead. HMO conversions are the clearest divergence, at 2.4 times the national share. Demolition runs at 11.1% against 9.1% nationally, dormers at 8.8% against 6.0%, and retrospective applications at 5.3% against 3.7%. Home extensions, the top category everywhere, are also above the national figure at 30.6% against 29.1%.
Leeds submits HMO conversion applications at more than twice the national rate, the largest divergence in its mix and a marker of a city with a deep rental and student market.
Each bar is Leeds's share of applications; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions are the city's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices climbed alongside the building work.
Permission may be harder to win here, but values pushed on regardless: the average Leeds home rose sharply over the year.
Leeds planning data is clear. The council refuses 1 in 6 applications, well above the national figure of roughly 1 in 8, and the mix points to a large city reshaping its existing housing stock. HMO conversions run at 2.4 times the national rate, demolition and dormers are both above the norm, and 1 in 19 applications is retrospective, built before consent was sought. For anyone buying here, a tougher approval process is the reality to plan around.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Leeds Council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Category shares use the analysed sample of 2025 applications. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications in scope.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, across applications with a decision in the analysed sample. 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 Leeds 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 decided in Leeds in the latest full year, from HMO use and extensions to a string of refusals that show how often the council says no. Open any one to see its full record.
80 Kedleston Road LS8 2AU
An application to remove a branch and reduce the crown of a protected sycamore was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 6 the council refused.
See this property's full record35 Burley Lodge Road LS6 1QP
A certificate confirming the property's lawful use as a house in multiple occupation was granted, the shared-rental work Leeds files at over twice the national rate.
See this property's full record2 Queensthorpe Rise LS13 4JR
A single-storey side extension and a new first-floor side window were refused, the kind of common project that often falls foul of this tougher council.
See this property's full record5 Queens Court, Great Preston LS26 8DD
A retrospective bid to bring vacant land into the garden with detached structures already in place was turned down, an example of the built-first pattern Leeds sees above the national norm.
See this property's full record17 Swinnow Avenue LS13 4NL
Permission was granted to demolish a detached garage and add a part single, part two-storey side and rear extension, the city's most common project type.
See this property's full record28 All Saints Drive, Woodlesford LS26 8NF
A rear dormer and front rooflights were confirmed as lawful development, the dormer work Leeds files at 1.5 times the national rate.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Leeds?
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