UK cost guide · September 2026

How much does a garage conversion cost in 2026?

A mid-range conversion of an integral or attached single garage costs £14,400 to £20,500 including VAT in an average UK area outside London, and about £19,400 to £27,500 in London. A detached single garage costs £21,500 to £30,000, because it needs its own services and more insulation. Allow £1,700 to £3,700 for drawings and building control.

By Estiquote · Prices reviewed 25 September 2026, next review December 2026 · How we calculate · Updated 10 November 2026

Work out your garage conversion cost

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Already have a builder’s price? Check where your quote sits against this range. Still deciding what to do first? Read where to start a home renovation.

Garage conversion prices in 2026

Ranges are for a typical home outside London, including VAT, before fees and contingency. Use the calculator for your region and finish.

Garage conversion costs by type and finish, UK average outside London, including VAT (September 2026)
Type	Basic	Mid-range	Premium
Integral or attached single garage	£10,800 to £14,400	£14,400 to £20,500	£20,500 to £30,000
Detached single garage	£18,000 to £21,500	£21,500 to £30,000	£30,000 to £42,000

Garage conversion costs by region

Labour costs vary across the UK far more than materials. Garage conversion prices in London run about 35% above the UK average outside London, and in Northern Ireland about 18% below it.

Garage conversion costs by region: Integral or attached single garage, including VAT
Region	Mid-range cost
UK average (outside London)	£14,400 to £20,500
London	£19,400 to £27,500
South East	£16,600 to £23,500
East of England	£15,400 to £22,000
South West	£15,000 to £21,000
West Midlands	£14,000 to £19,800
East Midlands	£13,700 to £19,400
Scotland	£13,700 to £19,400
North West	£13,400 to £19,000
Yorkshire and the Humber	£13,200 to £18,800
Wales	£13,000 to £18,400
North East	£12,700 to £18,000
Northern Ireland	£11,800 to £16,700

Which region is my town in? Brighton, Oxford and Southampton are in the South East; Cambridge and Norwich in the East of England; Bristol, Bath and Exeter in the South West; Birmingham and Coventry in the West Midlands; Nottingham and Leicester in the East Midlands; Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland; Manchester and Liverpool in the North West; Leeds, Sheffield and Hull in Yorkshire and the Humber; Cardiff and Swansea in Wales; Newcastle and Sunderland in the North East; and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Somewhere else? Type your postcode into the calculator above and it says which region’s prices it uses.

Want it for your area? See local prices and council building control fees for 92 council areas in England and Wales (not every council yet).

Fees and approvals

Design, engineering and approvals come on top of the building work. Building control: 39 of the 77 councils we checked in England and Wales charge between £460 and £660 for a garage conversion, so the table shows that typical range; your council’s own charge is on its local page, and every council is on building control fees by council. We have local pages for 92 council areas; 15 of them don’t show a separate charge for a garage conversion in the schedules we checked, so this figure covers 77.

Typical fees and approvals, including VAT where charged
Fee	Typical cost	Notes
Building regulations drawings	£1,200 to £3,000
Building control (council, full plans)	£460 to £660	About half the councils we checked in England and Wales (39 of 77) charge within this range for a garage conversion; current schedules run from £340 to £953.

The calculator adjusts design and engineer fees for your region, so its figures can differ slightly from this table. Council pages use that council’s own building control charge.

What's included in these prices

Included

Filling the door opening with a wall and window
Raising and insulating the floor
Insulating walls and ceiling
Electrics, heating and plastering
Decoration to a finished room

Not included

A kitchen or bathroom in the new room
Underpinning or new foundations if the garage has poor footings
Planning fees, if your permitted development rights have been removed

What drives the cost

Condition of the garage. Weak foundations or damp walls add cost quickly.
Insulation. Garages are cold; meeting building regulations means insulating the floor, walls and roof.
Services. Detached garages need new electric and heating supplies run from the house.
Use. A bedroom or office is simpler than a kitchen or bathroom, which need drainage.

Planning, regulations and VAT

Most garage conversions in England do not need planning permission unless your permitted development rights have been removed (common on newer estates). Check with your council. Every conversion needs building regulations approval.

Checklist: what to ask builders to confirm

Print this or save it as a PDF, one copy for each quote. Mark each line included, separate or not confirmed as quotes come in. An empty amount means unknown, not free.

Print one copy for each quote you are comparing
Item	What to confirm	Included? Amount?
Survey	Foundations, walls, damp and roof condition.
Permissions	Planning check and building control.
Envelope	Door infill, window, floor, wall and roof insulation.
Services	Electrics, heating, and any plumbing.
Finishes	Plaster, flooring and decoration.

Questions people ask

Do I need planning permission to convert my garage?

Usually not, unless your permitted development rights have been removed. You always need building regulations approval.

How much does a double garage conversion cost?

Expect well above the single-garage figure of £14,400 to £20,500; get a site-specific quote, because doubles often need extra structural work.

Sources and method

Our ranges combine published 2026 UK cost guides, industry data and our own survey of council fees. We check them every quarter. They are budget ranges, not quotes: always get at least three detailed written quotes. Read how Estiquote estimates work, or download the full cost data.