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Add an access ramp to your house

Last updated
1 Dec 2025

If you need to add an access ramp to your home, you may be able to build this through permitted development.

This guidance only applies if your home is a dwellinghouse. This means it's a house you live in, and it’s not used as a business premise to any significant degree.

Permitted development

Before you arrange anything, you should check to see if you need to apply for planning permission.

You'll have automatic planning permission if your ramp qualifies for 'permitted development'.

This means it meets a specific set of rules about its size and length.

You will not need to apply for planning permission to add an access ramp to your house as long as:

  • the combined length of all flights (sloped sections) is less than 5 metres
  • the combined length of all flights and landings (flat sections) is less than 9 metre
  • the combined height of the ramp, including handrails or any other structure, is no higher than 1.5 metres
  • any part of the ramp itself is no higher than 40 centimetres
  • it's not within the curtilage of a listed building or within a conservation area – curtilage is the land immediately around your house

Find more information on householder permitted development rights guidance on gov.scot. It includes details on adding a ramp.

Planning permission

If your access ramp does not meet permitted development rules, you must apply for planning permission.

Find out how to apply for planning permission. You can also contact your local council for further information.

Planning permission

Always check with your council to confirm if you need planning permission. Even if you meet the permitted development rules, there might be other approvals you'll need to get.

Other approvals

You may need other approvals before starting work. For example, your local council might ask for building regulation approval. 

If you do not own the land, you must get the landowner’s permission (for example, if you’re a tenant or share ownership). 

If your home is a listed building, you’ll also need listed building consent. 

It’s your responsibility to make sure you have all the approvals you need. 

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