Lincoln refuses just 1 in 20 planning applications. That is less than half the national refusal rate.
Lincoln City Council received 705 planning applications in 2025. Of the 1,346 decided across 2024 and 2025, 95.1% were approved and only 4.9% refused, well below the national refusal rate of 12.4%. HMO conversions and listed-building works are the categories that set Lincoln apart, both running significantly above the national share.
The year in one line
Lincoln City Council approved 95.1% of the applications it decided and refused fewer than 1 in 20, while HMO conversions ran at more than six times the national share and listed-building works at more than three times.
What Lincoln Is Building
Extensions lead, with HMOs and heritage well above the norm.
Home extensions were the most common application type submitted to Lincoln City Council, at 16.1% of the total. The categories that set Lincoln apart are shared housing and heritage work: HMO conversions made up 7.6% of applications, more than six times the national share of 1.2%, and listed-building works 7.7%, more than three times the national share of 2.4%. This is the application mix of a compact cathedral city with a large student population and a protected historic core.
Applications submitted to Lincoln City Council in 2025, by project type (counts from the 2024-2025 pooled period used for category shares).
Above the national rate
HMO conversions run at 6.2 times the national share and listed-building works at 3.2 times. In a student city with a protected historic centre, both are a consistent part of the planning picture.
The council verdict
An easy yes, with almost nothing refused.
Lincoln City Council approved 95.1% of the applications it decided across 2024 and 2025, and refused only 4.9%, less than half the national refusal rate of 12.4%. Only 1 in 20 applications was turned down, where the national figure is closer to 1 in 8.
Only about 1 in 20 Lincoln applications was turned down.
of decided applications were approved, against an 87.6% national rate. Only 1 in 20 was refused, where the national figure is closer to 1 in 8.
Lincoln vs The National Norm
A high-approval city built around shared housing and heritage.
Lincoln's strongest divergence from the national picture is its approval rate: 95.1% against 87.6% nationally, with only 4.9% refused. The mix tilts sharply toward shared housing and heritage: HMO conversions run at 6.2 times the national share and listed-building works at 3.2 times. Home extensions make up just 16.1% here, against 29.1% nationally, as the city's compact historic fabric limits straightforward extension work.
Lincoln files HMO conversions at more than six times the national rate. It is the planning mark of a student city with a large market for shared rented housing.
Each bar is Lincoln's share of applications; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions and listed works are Lincoln's largest divergences above the norm.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Permission may be easier to win here than in most of the country, and prices climbed over the year as the building work went on.
Lincoln's planning data tells a clear story. The council approves 95.1% of the applications it decides and refuses fewer than 1 in 20, one of the lowest refusal rates in the country. HMO conversions run at more than six times the national share and listed-building works at more than three times, reflecting a student city built around a protected historic core. For anyone looking to extend or convert, this is one of the easier places in England to get permission.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Lincoln City Council in 2025 (volume) and the 2024-2025 pooled period (category shares and decision rates), sourced from PlanIt. 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 all decided applications. 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 Lincoln 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 in Lincoln, from listed-building works and shared-housing conversions to retrospective extensions. Open any one to see its full record.
25 Albert Crescent LN1 1LX
A plan to turn a six-bed shared house back into two flats was turned down, one of the few applications the council refused.
See this property's full record19 Albert Crescent LN1 1LX
A near-identical proposal next door to split a six-bed shared house into two flats was also refused.
See this property's full record80 Richmond Road LN1 1LH
Continued use of a home as a shared house was confirmed lawful, the kind of HMO application Lincoln files at more than six times the national rate.
See this property's full record304 Skellingthorpe Road LN6 0EX
A dated rear conservatory was cleared to make way for a single-storey rear extension, with an electric car charger added to the front. The council granted it.
See this property's full record183 Lincoln Road, North Hykeham LN6 8PB
A two-storey side extension with external alterations was approved, the most common kind of project in Lincoln.
See this property's full record10 Wellingore Road LN2 2DH
Permission was granted for a part two-storey, part single-storey side extension and a new front porch.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Lincoln?
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