HOW TO HIRE · GARDEN & OUTDOOR

How to hire a garden designer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register covers garden designers. Agree the brief, the fee stages and the drawings you get — and check the design against planning rules.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a garden designer in five steps

  1. Write a briefHow you use the garden, what must stay, budget for the build, and how much upkeep you want.
  2. Look at built gardens, not just drawingsAsk for photos of finished gardens and, if possible, a client you can speak to.
  3. Agree the fee stages in writingSurvey, concept, final plan, planting plan, and any site visits during the build.
  4. Ask how the design fits planning rulesOutbuildings, walls and front-garden paving have limits. A good designer checks them.
  5. Settle who builds itYour own landscaper or one the designer recommends — and whether the designer oversees the build.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to garden designers in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no qualification is required to use the title. The checks are a portfolio of built work, a written fee agreement and a design that respects the planning rules.

Ask for three built projects and the fee agreement before you pay anything.

Planning rules for outbuildings (England)

Under Class E of the General Permitted Development (England) Order 2015, a garden building may not sit forward of the house's principal elevation, must stay single storey, and within 2 metres of a boundary may not exceed 2.5 metres in height. Raised platforms over 0.3 metres are outside these rights.

Ask the garden designer to mark heights and boundary distances for any structure on the plan. legislation.gov.uk →

Fences, walls and gates (England)

Under Class A of Part 2 of the same Order, a new gate, fence or wall may be up to 1 metre next to a road used by vehicles and 2 metres elsewhere without planning permission; a listed building's curtilage is excluded.

Check heights on the plan against these limits, or ask the council. legislation.gov.uk →

Front-garden paving (England)

Under Class F of the same Order, paving more than 5 square metres between the house and the road is permitted development only if the surface is porous or drains to a permeable area; otherwise planning permission is needed.

If the design paves the front garden, ask which permeable method is specified. gov.uk →

VAT

Garden design fees are standard-rated at 20%. A garden designer with turnover above £90,000 must register, charge the 20% on each stage fee and show it as its own line; a small studio under it may add none.

Ask whether the garden designer has a VAT number and check each stage invoice shows the 20% separately. gov.uk →

“Can I see gardens you designed that have been built?”

A good answer: Photos of finished gardens, ideally a few years old, and a client willing to talk.

“What exactly do I get for each fee stage?”

A good answer: A list: measured survey, concept, scaled masterplan, planting plan with quantities, construction details.

“Have you checked the design against planning rules?”

A good answer: Yes — heights near boundaries, anything forward of the house, front-garden surfaces — and where in doubt, a note to ask the council.

“Can the build come within my budget?”

A good answer: An honest outline cost for the build, not just the design fee, with what would push it up.

“Who owns the drawings, and can another landscaper use them?”

A good answer: A clear answer in the agreement, so you are not tied to one builder.

“Will you visit during the build?”

A good answer: Visits priced per visit or included; a designer who never sees the build cannot catch mistakes.

“How much upkeep will this garden need?”

A good answer: A frank answer matched to your brief: a low-maintenance garden is a design decision.

Getting the quote right

  • Each stage of the garden design and its fee, with what is delivered at each
  • The number of revisions included
  • Site visits during the build, priced or included
  • Planting plan with species and quantities, or not
  • Who owns and may reuse the drawings
  • Who actually attends the site visits and the build, and whether they are employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, with 20% VAT shown separately for each design stage

Walk away if

  • No built gardens to show, only renders
  • Full fee up front before the survey
  • A design with a raised deck or tall building on the boundary and no mention of planning
  • The designer insists on their own builder with no option to tender
  • No written fee agreement
LOW
£500
TYPICAL
£1,950
HIGH
£5,000

What a garden designer costs: £500–£5,000 per project

Garden design is priced by the project, in stages from survey to planting plan; the size of the garden and the detail of the drawings set the fee. Garden Design price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Garden designers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. ConsultationThe garden designer visits, walks the garden with you and takes the brief.
  2. SurveyMeasurements, levels, aspect, soil and existing plants recorded.
  3. ConceptOne or two layouts sketched for you to choose between and change.
  4. Final planA scaled masterplan with materials, levels and structures, checked against planning limits.
  5. Planting plan and handoverSpecies, sizes and quantities listed; the plan handed to your landscaper with any construction details.

Masterplan
The scaled drawing of the whole design that a landscaper builds from.
Planting plan
A drawing listing every plant, its size and how many.
Permitted development
Work allowed without a planning application, within set limits.
Principal elevation
Usually the front of the house — the face that faces the road.
Curtilage
The land that goes with the house: its garden.
Hard landscaping
Paving, walls, steps and structures, as opposed to planting.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the drawings and the fee agreementThe scaled plan and planting plan are what the builder works to and what you check the build against.
Check the plan against the briefEvery must-keep plant, the seating area, storage and the budget — before you hand it to a builder.
Settle planning questions before the buildAnything near a boundary limit goes to the council first.
Your reviewOnly booked jobs get reviews on Locufy. Raise anything unfinished with the garden designer through the make-it-right step, then review.

STEP 1Raise it with themKeep it in writing: what was agreed for the design work, what was done, and what you now want from the garden designer. Work done without reasonable care and skill breaks the contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the garden designer under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to them first; we follow it through. Then review.
STEP 3No regulator: Trading StandardsTrading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (0808 223 1133) in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) and Consumerline (0300 123 6262) in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Claim the money backFor a garden designer who ignores a fair request, the small-claims limits are £10,000 (England and Wales), £5,000 (Scotland, simple procedure) and £5,000 (Northern Ireland).

Hiring a garden designer: questions people ask

No. No licence, register or required qualification applies to garden designers anywhere in the UK. Judge them on built work and a clear fee agreement.

Most planting and many structures do not, but limits apply. In England, outbuildings, fences, walls and front-garden paving each have permitted-development limits; elsewhere ask the council.

£500–£5,000 a project is the usual range and £1,950 the typical figure. The garden design price guide has the factors behind it.

Only if the agreement says so. Ask before you sign who owns the drawings and whether they can be passed on.

From survey to final plan usually several weeks, longer with revisions or a planting plan.

No — the design fee buys the plan. The build is quoted separately by a landscaper.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in garden & outdoor

How to hire: LandscapingHow to hire: Planting & BordersHow to hire: Patio LayingHow to hire: Decking ConstructionHow to hire: Pond InstallationHow to hire: Outdoor KitchenHow to hire: Pergola & GazeboHow to hire: Garden Irrigation SystemAll 701 hiring guides →

Garden designers near you

Garden designers in LondonGarden designers in ManchesterGarden designers in BirminghamGarden designers in GlasgowGarden designers in BelfastAll garden designers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1 — outbuildings and hard surfaces
  2. Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 2 — gates, fences and walls
  3. gov.uk — permeable surfacing of front gardens: guidance
  4. gov.uk — planning permission (England and Wales)
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track (England and Wales)
  7. mygov.scot — make a court claim for money (simple procedure)
  8. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  9. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  10. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register