MCIAT chartered drawings · Fixed fees across all 33 London boroughs

Free 2026 London Planning ReportFloor Plans in Croydon

Detached suburban London house with driveway, characteristic of Croydon's Purley and Sanderstead plots
Croydon · London

Floor Plans in Croydon

Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered floor plans for Croydon homeowners — Croydon Council validation and local constraints handled from the start.

Free Croydon planning assessment

Tell us your Croydon address and project. A fixed quote and free planning appraisal land within one working day.

No obligation · No spam · Reply within 1 working day

Croydon is one of London's largest boroughs by population, running from the dense Victorian and Edwardian terraces of Thornton Heath, South Norwood and Addiscombe up to the generous interwar semi-detached and detached houses of Purley, Sanderstead and Coulsdon on the southern hills, with town-centre flats and larger homes in between. That range means the right project varies widely — a compact side-return in Addiscombe is a different exercise from a substantial double-storey extension on a large Purley plot — and the sloping sites across the southern hills further shape how an extension or lower-ground scheme is designed.

The suburban semis and detached homes toward Purley and Sanderstead often retain fuller permitted development rights than inner-London terraces, so larger rear and double-storey extensions can qualify, with the limit usually design and amenity policy rather than space. That said, the conservation areas of Addiscombe, South Norwood, Park Hill, Upper Norwood, Waddon and Sanderstead tighten design control where they apply, and Croydon's HMO Article 4 directions remove permitted development for change of use to an HMO (C3 to C4) in designated wards. We take a validation-first approach, checking the permitted development limits for your semi-detached or detached home — and confirming eligibility with a Lawful Development Certificate where it qualifies — before drawing.

We prepare Croydon planning drawings that use the available plot fully while respecting conservation control, producing the same council-accepted drawings an architect would across Croydon, Purley, Thornton Heath, Norbury and Coulsdon — usually at around 30% less. The fee is fixed and agreed up front, drawings typically turn around in about seven days, and we redraw free until Croydon approves. Most householder applications are determined within the statutory eight-week period once validated, so for a large borough spanning terraces to suburban plots a complete, correctly scaled submission to the council's checklist is the best way to avoid a validation query.

Detached suburban London house with driveway, characteristic of Croydon's Purley and Sanderstead plots
Isometric illustration of a Croydon home extension design
Proposed floor plan
Croydon

Planning in Croydon: what to know before you apply

Croydon applies Article 4 directions to HMO conversions in designated wards and controls office-to-residential change of use in parts of the town centre, alongside conservation-area design control in Addiscombe, South Norwood and Upper Norwood. The suburban semis and detached homes toward Purley and Sanderstead often retain fuller permitted development rights than inner-London terraces — we confirm before drawing.

Typical Croydon housing stock

Interwar semi-detached suburbia across Purley, Sanderstead and Shirley, Victorian and Edwardian terraces through Thornton Heath, South Norwood and Addiscombe, and town-centre flats and larger detached houses toward the southern hills.

Areas we regularly draw for in Croydon

Croydon · Purley · Thornton Heath · South Norwood · Addiscombe · Sanderstead · Coulsdon · Norbury

What Croydon is actually built of

Building form decides what a plan has to show. Attached housing means party walls, shared drainage runs and a narrow back addition to measure carefully; detached stock means the plan has to carry the setting as well as the building. These are measured counts from Ordnance Survey building data, not a description of the borough.

Croydon building stock

Residential building form across 6 of Croydon's 6 postcode districts, from 1,992 classified buildings. Connectivity is topology: a semi extended into its garage reads as attached on more than one side.

Attached on more than one side39%
Attached on one side41%
Detached20%
Buildings attached on more than one side781
Detached buildings402
Buildings classified1,992
Postcode districts measured6

Source: Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database (derived statistics). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Extracted 2026-08-17.

Floor Plans for Croydon homes: the package and the process

A floor plan is only as good as the survey behind it. Room dimensions taken from a laser survey rather than an estate agent's sketch, wall thicknesses drawn as they actually are, and structural walls distinguished from partitions — those are what make a plan usable for design work rather than just for marketing.

We issue plans at a stated scale with a scale bar, so they stay measurable when printed or resized, and supply them in formats that work for the next stage: a PDF to share, and CAD where an architect, engineer or kitchen designer needs to draw on top of it.

The plan itself carries the building's history. Chimney breasts, blocked openings, changes in floor level and an outrigger that has been extended more than once all show up in a measured plan, and they are precisely the things a sketched plan leaves out.

What are floor plans used for?

Floor plans serve several distinct purposes in London property: estate agents use them to market a sale or letting alongside photographs, giving buyers and tenants an accurate sense of layout and scale that a floor plan on its own can convey better than photos; solicitors and lenders often require a lease plan showing the demise of a flat within a building, particularly for leasehold sales or re-mortgages; landlords use them to document a property's layout for reference, insurance or portfolio management; and homeowners use them simply to have an accurate record of their existing layout, whether for their own reference or as the first step before considering any building work.

How accurate are laser-measured floor plans?

We measure every floor plan on site using a laser distance meter rather than a tape measure or estimation from photographs, which keeps room dimensions, wall thicknesses and door and window positions accurate to within a few millimetres. This matters more than it might seem: an estate agent's marketing plan that overstates a room's size can mislead a buyer and cause problems at survey stage, while a lease plan used for legal purposes needs to accurately reflect what a leaseholder actually owns. A laser-measured plan also means that if you later want to use it as the existing-layout drawing for a planning application, it is already accurate enough to build proposed drawings on top of, rather than needing to be re-measured.

How much do floor plans cost in London?

A single floor-plan set starts from £450, which covers a laser-measured site visit and scaled, dimensioned drawings of each floor of the property. The exact fee depends on the number of floors, the overall size of the property, and whether you need elevations or a site plan in addition to the floor plans themselves — for example, for a lease plan or as the base for a future planning application. This is a fixed fee agreed upfront, with no hourly billing.

Floor plans compared with a full planning drawing set
Floor plansFull planning drawing set
PurposeRecord of existing layoutExisting layout plus a designed proposal
Includes a proposed designNoYes
Submitted to the councilNoYes, via the Planning Portal
Typical turnaroundA few daysAround 7 days from survey
Fee guideFrom £450From £1,600
Sheet from a floor plans package prepared for a Croydon property, drawn to Croydon Council validation standards
A sheet from the floor plans package we submit to Croydon Council.
FAQ

Floor Plans in Croydon — FAQs

How much do floor plans cost in London?+
Floor plans start from £450 for a laser-measured, scaled drawing of each floor, with the exact fee depending on the size of the property and the number of floors involved.
How long does it take to get floor plans?+
Most floor plans are ready within a few days of the site survey, considerably faster than a full planning drawing set, since there is no design or application work involved.
Can floor plans be used for a lease or mortgage application?+
Yes — laser-measured floor plans are commonly used as lease plans and for mortgage or re-mortgage purposes; let us know at the outset if you need a specific format or additional detail such as room areas.
Can I reuse my floor plans if I later want to extend or convert my loft?+
Yes — the laser survey behind your floor plans can usually be reused as the existing-layout base drawing for a future planning or building regulations application, saving you from a second site visit.
Do you provide floor plans for estate agents?+
Yes, floor plans are commonly instructed directly by homeowners or via their estate agent ahead of a sale or letting, drawn to scale and ready to use alongside marketing photography.
Do I need planning permission for an extension in Croydon?+
It depends where in the borough you are. The interwar semis and detached homes of Purley, Sanderstead and Coulsdon often keep fuller permitted development rights than inner-London terraces, so larger rear and single-storey extensions can qualify. Conservation areas such as Addiscombe and South Norwood, and HMO Article 4 wards, restrict this. We check your address first and can confirm permitted development with a Lawful Development Certificate.
Can I build a larger extension on a Purley or Sanderstead plot?+
Often, yes. Croydon's generous suburban plots make substantial rear and double-storey extensions viable where a tight terrace could not accommodate them. The limit is usually design and amenity policy rather than space. We design to use the plot fully within permitted-development allowances or a well-evidenced full application, checking the limits for detached and semi-detached homes first.
What do Croydon's HMO Article 4 directions mean for me?+
In designated wards, an Article 4 direction removes permitted development for change of use to an HMO (C3 to C4), so a conversion to a house in multiple occupation needs a full application there. It doesn't affect a standard family extension, but if you are considering an HMO we confirm whether the direction covers your address and use before advising on a route.
How long does Croydon Council take to decide?+
Croydon determines most householder applications within the statutory eight-week period once validated. As a large borough spanning terraces to suburban plots, a complete, correctly scaled submission is the best way to avoid a validation query — we prepare Croydon drawings to the council's checklist to keep the application on track.
How much do planning drawings cost in Croydon?+
We quote a fixed fee upfront, typically around 30% below an architect's charge for the same council-accepted drawings, with free redraws until Croydon approves. Because plots here allow larger schemes, the fee tracks complexity — a single-storey rear differs from a double-storey — and we confirm it once we understand your plans.
Free Fixed Quote

Get your free Croydon planning assessment

Tell us your Croydon address and ambition — we'll confirm feasibility, local constraints and a fixed fee within one working day.