Reading logs HMO conversions at 2.4 times the national rate.
Reading Council received 1,546 planning applications in 2025. Of the 3,098 decided across 2024 and 2025, 90.5% were approved, above the national rate of 87.6%, with 9.5% refused, about 1 in 11. What sets the town apart is its application mix: HMO conversions appeared at 2.4 times the national share, and loft conversions at 1.8 times, the clearest signal in Reading's planning record that owners here are squeezing more homes out of the stock they already have.
The year in one line
Reading's council approves applications above the national rate and refuses fewer, while HMO conversions run at 2.4 times and loft conversions at 1.8 times the national share, a sign that owners here are adding occupancy to existing homes.
What Reading Is Building
Extensions lead, but HMO and loft conversions set the town apart.
Home extensions were the most common project submitted to Reading Council in 2025, at 27.4% of all applications. The figures that mark the town out are HMO conversions, at 2.9% of applications against a national share of 1.2%, and loft conversions, at 4.5% against a national share of 2.6%. Together they point to a town where owners are expanding occupancy within the existing building stock.
Applications submitted to Reading Council in 2025, by project type.
The density effect
Reading submits HMO conversions at 2.4 times the national share and loft conversions at 1.8 times. Owners here are adding rooms and separate dwellings within the homes they already have, rather than building outward.
The council verdict
Above the national rate, with fewer refusals.
Reading Council approved 90.5% of the applications it decided across 2024 and 2025, above the national rate of 87.6%. It refused 9.5%, about 1 in 11, compared with a national refusal rate of 12.4%. Applications that have not yet received a decision are excluded from these rates.
About 1 in 11 Reading applications was turned down.
Reading applications was refused, against a national rate of about 1 in 8. The council's 90.5% approval rate sits above the national norm of 87.6%.
Reading vs The National Norm
A high-density conversion town, by the numbers.
Set Reading's application mix against the national average and two categories stand well above it. HMO conversions account for 2.9% of applications in the Reading Council area, 2.4 times the national share of 1.2%. Loft conversions run at 4.5%, 1.8 times the national share of 2.6%. Demolition is notably below the national share, and listed-building works are well below average at 0.9% against a national 2.4%.
Reading submits HMO conversions at more than double the national share, the largest divergence in its application mix. Loft conversions follow at 1.8 times the national share.
Each bar is Reading's share of applications; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions are the town's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices held up alongside the building work.
Reading's owners may be busy reworking the space they have, but the homes themselves held their value: the average price rose over the year.
Reading's planning record is clear. The council approves more applications than average and refuses fewer, but the story is in the mix: HMO conversions at more than double the national share and loft conversions at 1.8 times it. This is a town adding occupancy to homes that already exist. For anyone buying here, the planning history of any converted property is worth checking carefully.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Reading Council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Shares and rates are computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for stability; volume is 2025 only.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, over applications decided across 2024 and 2025. 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 Reading 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 Reading in the latest full year, from HMO and loft conversions to refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
3 Simonds Grove, Spencers Wood RG7 1BH
A loft conversion approved by Reading Council, one of 162 such applications submitted in 2025, running at 1.8 times the national share.
See this property's full record11 Rhigos, Emmer Green RG4 8LF
A front extension, new porch and window changes granted in part retrospectively, work that had already begun before consent was sought.
See this property's full record61 Lawrence Road, Tilehurst RG30 6BH
Permission to demolish a garage and replace it with an outbuilding, one way owners here rework the footprint they already have.
See this property's full record3 Chagford Road RG2 8AY
A bid to confirm a rear-garden outbuilding as lawful was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 11 applications the council refused.
See this property's full record50 Cardiff Road RG1 8EP
A request to amend an earlier consent and raise a rear parapet wall as built was refused by the council.
See this property's full record61 Oatlands Road, Shinfield RG2 9DN
A single-storey rear extension approved by Reading Council, the most common project type in its 2025 submissions.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Reading?
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