London digs down: basement applications run at nearly five times the national rate.
London's 33 boroughs received 115,582 planning applications in 2025. Of the applications that have been decided, 86.9% were approved, broadly in line with the national rate of 87.6%. The standout is what owners do when they cannot build out: 4.7% of all applications were basement digs, against 1.0% nationally, nearly five times the national rate. Demolition ran at 1.6 times the national share. It is the planning signature of a dense city that finds new space below ground and above the roofline.
The year in one line
London approves planning work at roughly the national rate, but files basement-dig applications at nearly five times the national rate and demolition applications at 1.6 times the rate, the mark of a city that rebuilds and extends down rather than out.
What London Is Building
Extensions lead, but dense-city projects set the mix apart.
Home extensions were the most common project submitted to London boroughs in 2025, at 30.3% of all applications, a little above the national norm. The figures that mark London out sit lower in the table. Demolition made up 14.3% of applications, 1.6 times the national share. Dormers accounted for 8.9% and basement digs 4.7%, nearly five times the national rate. HMO conversions ran at 2.0%. This is the application mix of a dense city where stock is cleared and rebuilt, extra floor space is found in the roof, and owners dig below when they cannot extend across.
Applications submitted to London boroughs in 2025, by project type (counts from the analysed sample of 8,346 applications).
The dense-city effect
London files basement-dig applications at 4.6 times the national rate. Where land is scarce, owners add space below ground rather than out across the plot. Demolition also runs well above the national share, reflecting the pace of rebuilding in the capital.
The council verdict
A standard yes.
Of applications that received a decision, 86.9% were approved and 13.1% were refused, about 1 in 8, broadly in line with the national rates of 87.6% approved and 12.4% refused. London's refusal rate is fractionally above the national norm but not materially different. Figures are computed over the 5,370 decided applications in the analysed sample.
About 1 in 8 London applications was turned down.
London applications is refused. At 13.1%, the refusal rate sits just above the national 12.4%, while the approval rate of 86.9% is close to the national 87.6%.
London vs The National Norm
A dense city, by the numbers.
Set London's application mix against the national average and the dense-city pattern is clear. Basement digs feature in 4.7% of applications here, nearly five times the national share of 1.0%. Demolition runs at 14.3%, against 9.1% nationally. Dormers are also above the norm at 8.9% versus 6.0%. The category London does less of is telling too: garage conversions make up just 1.5% of applications, against 2.4% nationally, the conversion that needs a garage few London homes have.
London files basement-dig applications at nearly five times the national rate. Where land is scarce, owners add space below ground rather than out across the plot.
Each bar is London's share of applications; the marker is the national share. Basement digs are the city's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices eased alongside the building work.
Permission may take its time here, but the cost of buying remains steep: London is among the most expensive places in the country to own a home.
London's planning data tells a clear story. This is a city that rebuilds, digs down, and extends into the roof because it cannot build out. Owners submit basement applications at nearly five times the national rate and demolition applications at 1.6 times the rate. The councils say yes about as often as anywhere else in England. For anyone buying here, the route to more space runs below the floor, into the roof, or through a full rebuild.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to London boroughs in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Analysis is based on a sample of 8,346 applications; shares are of the full sample, decision rates of its 5,370 decided applications.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals. 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 London area, 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 London in 2025, from basement works and demolition projects to HMO conversions and a refusal. Open any one to see its full record.
49 Roydene Road, Greenwich SE18 1PZ
A lawful development certificate confirmed an existing loft conversion with a rear dormer, the up-and-into-the-roof work that features heavily in London's application mix.
See this property's full record37 Gatling Road, Greenwich SE2 0RE
A rear roof extension and two front rooflights were confirmed lawful, adding bedroom space in the roof rather than out across the plot.
See this property's full record135 Tressillian Road, Lewisham SE4 1XZ
A garden outbuilding was granted, the kind of project London does less of than the country because few homes here have the plot for it.
See this property's full record16 Glenesk Road, Greenwich SE9 1AG
An old extension was demolished and replaced with a new single-storey rear extension, reflecting the demolition rate running well above the national norm.
See this property's full record23 Chalford Road, Lambeth SE21 8BX
A rear dormer with two front rooflights was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 8 applications the council refused.
See this property's full record73 Bracondale Road, Greenwich SE2 9EH
A plan to convert a house into a five-bed, six-person HMO was refused, in a city where HMO applications run at 1.6 times the national rate.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in London?
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