Domestic heat pumps benefit from permitted development rights. This means that in most cases you do not require planning permission to install them, subject to certain limitations and conditions (see below).
There are three types of domestic heat pump where permitted development rights apply:
- air source heat pumps
- ground source heat pumps
- water source heat pumps
Air source heat pumps
Permitted development rights (PDRs) for air source heat pumps were updated on 1 June 2026. For an air source heat pump to be compliant with PDRs the following requirements need to be met:
- your installation must comply with MCS 020(a) which sets installation standards including assessment of sound impact on neighbours (you should speak to your installer about this)
- if your home is detached, you can install up to two air source heat pumps on (or within the curtilage of) your property
- if your home is not detached, you can install one air source heat pump on (or within the curtilage of) your property
- the volume of the air source heat pump's outdoor compressor unit (including any housing) must not exceed 1.5 cubic metres
- you cannot install an air source heat pump if a standalone wind turbine is already installed within the curtilage of your home
- within a Conservation Area an air source heat pump cannot be installed on a wall or a roof which fronts a highway, or would be installed so that it is nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage than the part of the dwellinghouse which is nearest to that highway (pavement or road)
- outside a Conservation Area an air source heat pump cannot be installed on a wall of a dwellinghouse if that wall fronts a highway and the heat pump would also be installed on any part of that wall which is above the level of the ground floor storey
- you cannot install an air source heat pump under PDRs on or within the curtilage of your house if the house is a listed building
- you cannot install an air source heat pump on a pitched roof
- if installed on a flat roof, the air source heat pump must not be sited within one metre of the external edge of that roof
- the air source heat pump must be for heating purposes or heating and cooling. It cannot be a unit designed for the purpose of cooling only
- the air source heat pump must, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building
- the air source heat pump must, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area
- the air source heat pump when no longer needed for or capable of microgeneration must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable.
For more details regarding the installation of air source heat pumps, you should contact your local planning authority.
The most recent changes to air source heat pump PDRs can be viewed in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2026 and this should be read in conjunction with the previous requirements set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2012 for context and how the changes apply
Ground source heat pumps and water source heat pumps
Permitted development rights permit the installation, alteration or replacement of a ground source heat pump or water source heat pump within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse.
If you have any queries about the installation of domestic ground source or water source heat pumps, you should contact your local planning authority.