Smarter, Sharper, Simpler: The new Interactive House built with user insight

For years, the Interactive House – an interactive digital home with clickable widgets letting users explore clear, digestible information on common home improvement projects - has been one of Planning Portal’s most popular tools, helping millions of people understand what they need to consider before starting a project. But planning is evolving, and so are we.

This bold redesign reflects our mission as the national planning and building regulations resource: to simplify the planning process, reduce invalid applications, and provide free, general guidance for homeowners and professionals alike.  

Powered by TerraQuest’s cutting-edge technology, this launch sets the foundation for an immersive digital experience that will unlock future integrations with artificial intelligence and advanced planning tools.

Why we’ve rebuilt the Interactive House

Invalid applications remain one of the biggest frustrations in planning, causing costly delays for homeowners and adding pressure to stretched local authorities. By offering clear, interactive guidance in a user-friendly format, the new Interactive House helps prevent mistakes and speeds up the planning process for everyone.

That’s why we’ve reimagined the Interactive House - making it even more user-friendly, with improvements shaped by real user feedback and data from homeowners, industry professionals, and planning officers, ensuring the tool addresses the most common challenges people face when navigating planning.

What’s new

The new Interactive House offers an enhanced digital experience with features designed to make planning simpler and clearer:

• Immersive exploration: Click through a fully redesigned digital house, inside and out, room by room.

• Smart search and interactive guides: Quickly find planning and building control requirements for common home improvement projects.

• User-first design: Built around feedback to address real-world challenges.

• Future-ready technology: Powered by TerraQuest, the Interactive House is built to evolve: unlocking planned AI integration and seamless connections to other Planning Portal services.

What this means for you

For homeowners:

• Understand whether your project needs planning permission or building regulations approval before you start by using this free tool.

• Avoid unnecessary hassle and reduce the chance of your application being rejected.

• Save time and feel more confident in your renovation journey.

For planning officers and professionals:

• A nationally consistent, free tool that streamlines planning processes and can be easily linked to from your website.

• Fewer invalid applications entering the system.

• Better informed applicants with clearer expectations.

A smarter future for planning

At Planning Portal, our role has always been about more than processing applications. We’re here to make the planning system clearer, simpler, and more efficient.

Laurie Cunningham, CTO at TerraQuest adds “The Interactive House has always been one of our most popular tools, but this relaunch takes it to the next level. By combining user feedback with cutting-edge technology, we’re making planning clearer, simpler, and ready for the future”

The new Interactive House, powered by TerraQuest’s advanced digital technology, is a big step forward in that journey. It not only makes planning guidance more accessible today, but also lays the groundwork for an AI-enabled, integrated future that will continue to transform how people navigate the planning system.

Explore the new Interactive House and gain the answers you need.