Inova Studios & Extensions FAQs

No, not if your modular building is less than 2.5m in height and situated more than 1m from the boundary.  In most cases where measurements exceed this you will NOT require planning permission if:

a) your modular building is *demonstrably* movable (of course, all our modular buildings comply)
b) the modular building will be used by a close member of the family

However, in many cases, you will require planning permission and doubly so if the modular building is not for a close member of the family.

We complete applications for modular buildings for our clients on a weekly basis. There are convenient areas of legislation that enable us to ensure a modular building qualifies as Lawful Development rather than requiring full planning permission.

Lawful Development is relevant when the modular building is designed to comply with legislation that acknowledges the genuine movability of the modular building and when the circumstances of the modular building is for a close member of the family.

In these cases, we will submit to your local authority that your modular building is lawful and planning permission is not required. A Development Certificate is typically granted by the local planning authority once they are confident that there is no material change of use and that there is no operational development.

Importantly, a Lawful Development Certificate submission does not involve neighbours or parish councils or other third parties and therefore provides each householder with a less complicated validation for the lawfulness of their modular building. Our planning service covers both planning permission and lawful development so we can advise each client which may be most appropriate.

A lawful development certificate is a legal document that is provided by a local planning authority, local authority or council. This certificate proves and acknowledges the lawfulness of any development, such as a suitably specified garden Annex, when combined with its use by a close family member of the house of the main householder.

Our normal turnaround time is 8-10 weeks from the time your order is placed for unpermitted buildings or once you receive a permit in the case of a permitted unit. We will keep you updated about your order throughout the process.

We ensure that you are kept informed at every stage of the process and provide you with a delivery schedule as soon as your order is confirmed.  We take great pride in our responsiveness and transparency, which is why we assign a dedicated account manager to each of our customers.  This way, you can receive regular updates, ask any questions, and get the support you need throughout the process.

STEP 1: Site Visit (1-2 weeks) – After you have contacted us one of our team will come out to assess your property and provide you with insights on the installation costs.

STEP 2: Design (1 week) – One of our in-house designers will work with you, providing you with detailed information about the site plan, elevations, and specific design configurations.

STEP 3: Planning (8-12 weeks) – The local planning application for the design choices you have made will be submitted. This time line is outside of our control but typically planning takes between 8-12 weeks. We advise that this process starts as soon as possible to avoid delays.  Our team will be available to advise you throughout the process should any questions or comments come up that need to be addressed.

STEP 4: Building Control (1 week) – Our designers collaborate with structural engineers to create a plan for building control submissions and obtain building control approval.

STEP 5: Fabrication (1 week) – After obtaining your planning permission, we will initiate the production process as per the design and engineering configurations compliant with the building regulation requirements. As the Inova system boasts a distinctive design, most of the building components are readily available in stock, except for the customised foundations that are produced to fit the site conditions. This entire process will be completed within a week.

STEP 6: Installation (1-2 weeks) – As soon as we agree a date, our Lifetime Installations team will complete the all building work within 2 weeks.

Feel free to call us. We are available to answer any of the questions you may have throughout the process.  Once you decide which model you’d like to move forward with, the design process will be start when we send you an invoice along with our terms and conditions.

Please bear in mind that the foundation requirements depend on your site and soil, it can be slab on grade or raised foundation.  We are available to answer any of the questions you may have throughout the process.

It depends on the number of workers on your site and their level of experience with assembly.  Typically, if you follow our instruction manual, a 120 square foot modular building can be erected within 2 – 3 days.  Once fully up, interior finishes can take an additional 3-5 days depending on interiors chosen.