A growing family needing an extra bedroom before a new arrival. A couple dreaming of an open-plan kitchen-diner for modern living. A remote employee hoping to convert their loft into a home office after years of working off the kitchen table.
Behind thousands of planning permission applications across the UK are major life changes. Homeowners are increasingly looking for more space and a home that better suits the way they live.
In fact, our data shows nearly 600,000 planning applications were submitted in 2025, a 0.58% increase on 2024, highlighting just how many households are keen to take the plunge into renovations.
But while homeowners see exciting transformations ahead, renovations often create major disruption in the short term. Furniture needs relocating, rooms become unusable, and belongings need protecting. For storage facility owners, your ears should be pricking up – this is a trend worth paying close attention to.
The stats reveal that there’s a significant number of homeowners who aren't completely happy with their current living spaces and are ready to make changes. For many of those who have gone through the effort of submitting a planning request, it likely means they're looking for some extra space, or their home needs some serious TLC.
Our research backs this up! We found that there were just over 500,000 mentions of keywords tied to requests for extra space (these include words such as: single, extension, loft, dormer, conservatory and two-story) across all applications. Plus, there were about 130,000 references connected to restoration requests (these include words such as: gable, alterations, construction and flat roof).
For the lucky applicants who were approved (there was a circa 87% approval rate), they face a whole world of dust and damage while the renovations are carried out.
Among those self-storage customers surveyed for the SSA Annual Report 2026, 6% revealed they wanted to store their belongings during redecorating. This is a fantastic opportunity for self-storage companies to step in and offer a helping hand to those wanting to store their belongings off-site to protect them until the work is completed.
We took a look at the data to see which region submitted the most applications and, thus, which area may offer the most prospects.
Turns out, residents in the South East weren’t so content with their houses and had the biggest appetite for renovations by a long shot, responsible for just under 20% of applications. The next prime spots that self-storage companies could have the most success targeting for leads are those in the East of England (around 13%), Inner London (just under 11%), and, closely followed by, the South West (just over 10%).
On the other hand, those in Northern Ireland seem content with their homes and not so keen on renovating, with only around 1% submitting applications.
One possible explanation for higher applications in the South East is the region’s elevated house prices. In many cases, extending a property allows homeowners to add significant value that can outweigh the costs associated with moving home.
At the start, we mentioned that about 600,000 applications were submitted, but not all were actually approved, so where does that leave the rest of the homeowners, and what opportunity does this present for storage businesses?
Well, these homeowners could be in limbo, waiting for the news (circa 33%), or they've changed their minds and withdrawn. Worse still, they've received the news that their plans have been rejected altogether. Unfortunately, this was the case for the 46,000 applications that were declined last year, meaning there will be homeowners living in properties they’re unhappy with. And they will have to look for other solutions to help improve their situation. That's where storage solutions can be the perfect alternative to maximising available space. According to the SSA 2026 report, a whopping 27% of self-storage customers reported that the reason they hired a unit was to create more space in their home.
The next pool of people storage companies could benefit from helping are the circa 33% who are currently in a waiting period while their application is being processed. This is a key window where they often start clearing space and preparing for upcoming renovation work. Your company can be front of mind when their application gets approved.
We can see this ‘improve rather than move’ attitude persist when we review year-to-date 2026 data. Many people are trapped in their current housing situation due to economic circumstances and rising costs. Transactions between January and April are down 10.3% year-on-year, according to HMRC, and sales agreed slipped by 4.1% between January and May. This is further backed up by our research in conjunction with Hillarys, which demonstrates a notable rise in people choosing to pause their move, particularly in the capital. Withdrawn listings across London in early 2026 were up around 25% year on year across some months.
MoverAlerts know which properties have applied for planning permission, and we can put you in the know too. If you're curious about how planning permissions can work to your advantage, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d be more than happy to explain how MoverAlerts can connect you with potential clients who might need a storage solution.