Balcony privacy screen
Updated: October 2026
The railing is the only thing between your chair and the walkway, and the roll in the basket was photographed on a garden fence. A balcony privacy screen is a cloth you might tie to that rail, after you have measured the rail and after someone with authority has said, in writing, that you may. Wind on an open floor is the third check. A light mesh is not a kennel panel and it is not a structural balcony screen. The [privacy fence comparison](/hub/fencing-and-wire/privacy-fence) is the shortlist those checks sit beside. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The railing is the only thing between your chair and the walkway, and the roll in the basket was photographed on a garden fence.
The railing is the only thing between your chair and the walkway, and the roll in the basket was photographed on a garden fence. A balcony privacy screen is a cloth you might tie to that rail, after you have measured the rail and after someone with authority has said, in writing, that you may. Wind on an open floor is the third check. A light mesh is not a kennel panel and it is not a structural balcony screen. The privacy fence comparison is the shortlist those checks sit beside. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Size | Fabric weight | Fixings | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  VOUNOT VOUNOT 1.8 × 10 m privacy netting, 230 g/m² | 1.8 m × 10 m | 230 g/m² | Grommets and ties, count n/a | 9.4 | about £27.54 | View offer |
| Best value |  VOUNOT VOUNOT 1.8 × 10 m privacy netting, 90 g/m² | 1.8 m × 10 m | 90 g/m² | 50 cable ties and 22 clips | 9.2 | about £15.19 | View offer |
 Amazon Basics Amazon Basics privacy screen, 0.91 × 3.05 m | 0.91 m × 3.05 m | 175 GSM | 20 ties at 300 mm | 9.0 | about £13.29 | View offer |
On this page
Measure the rail, not the garden
Tape the rail from wall to wall, including any return. That length is the roll. A 10 m garden cloth is usually spare that catches wind. About 3 m matches a short balcony better. Height is the rail, not a 1.8 m panel. Many rails sit around a metre, so a cloth of about 0.91 m can meet the metal. A 1.8 m roll hung from that rail stands far above it. Cut one down only if you are allowed to, and you accept the offcut. A 1 m by 10 m roll is long for most rails and still only a metre high.
Written permission before the ties
A bullet that says for balconies is the seller's use, not your freeholder, landlord or managing agent. If the lease requires consent, get it in writing and keep the copy.
Some leases demise the balcony. Some keep the rail and the outside face as the landlord's. Painting the rail is not permission to attach a screen. Kew Riverside, in guidance from 2024, has allowed some ground-floor screening only up to the top of the rail, on the inner side, and has banned drilling the slab. That is one estate, not the law of England. A cable tie can still be forbidden. On a taller block, ask before anything is fixed outside. A new balcony is not householder permitted development. If the screen rises above the rail, ask the landlord and the council. Each can say no.
Wind on an open balcony
If the written answer is yes, wind decides mesh against a solid sheet. Upper floors and corners take more wind. Holes let some air through. A doubled cloth loads the rail. A 95% light claim is not a wind rating. Use every eyelet. The order, corner then top then bottom, is on how to fit a privacy screen to a fence. If a gale is forecast, take the screen down. Keep the cloth inside the rail if the lease says so. Use outdoor ties and replace them when they go chalky. A caravan awning rail is not this balcony.
What from this set is even plausible
The plausible short screen is the Amazon Basics piece, about 0.91 m by 3.05 m at about £13.29, with 4.4 from 325 reviews, 175 GSM and 20 ties at 300 mm. The listing names balconies. Reviewers say it is not a blackout. Use it only if you may fix it. The 230 g/m² VOUNOT is the top pick for a house panel, and the 90 g/m² twin is the best value for that garden run. Neither is the default on a rail. Cut a 10 m roll only after the written yes. Nothing in the pack is permission.
Common questions
Can I cable-tie a privacy screen to my balcony rail?
Only if the lease, the landlord or the managing agent has said you may. A cable tie is still a fixing. Listings that mention balconies describe a product use, not consent. If you have that written yes, tie every eyelet, keep the cloth at the height you were allowed, and do not leave a loose tail over the street. If you do not have it, leave the rail bare.
Do I need the freeholder's permission?
If your lease says alterations need consent, yes, and you need it in writing from the person the lease names. That may be the freeholder, a landlord or a managing agent. Keep the email. A neighbour's screen is not consent for yours. Responsibility for the rail, where the lease makes you look after the metal, is not the same as permission to attach cloth. Ask before you buy the roll, not after the ties are on.
Is a mesh safer in wind than a solid sheet?
Mesh lets some air through, so it loads a rail less than a solid sheet or a doubled blackout, especially on a high corner. That is a reason to prefer the holed cloth, not a certificate. No roll in this set has a wind class, and a shade percentage is not one. Take the screen down if a gale is forecast and the rail was never built as a windbreak.
How high should the screen be on a railing?
Match the rail you measured, rather than a 1.8 m garden panel. A cloth about 0.91 m high is in the range of many balcony rails. Going above the rail changes the outside of the building and needs a separate yes. One estate's rule about stopping at the top of the rail, on the inner side, is that estate's rule. Your block may differ. The garden 1 m and 2 m permitted-development figures do not automatically set the height of a flat's rail.
Will a 1.8 m garden roll suit a balcony?
Usually it is the wrong default. Those rolls are 1.8 m by 10 m, which is taller and longer than most rails. They are the garden picks. You could cut one if you are allowed the fixing and the finished height stays where consent put it. You then own a large offcut and you have paid for cloth you will not hang. A short screen of about 0.91 m by 3 m is the closer match in this set, still subject to the lease.
Does planning permission for the flat replace the lease?
No. Landlord or freeholder consent and planning permission are separate. You can have one and still be refused the other. A screen that rises above the rail or changes the outside face is the case where you ask the council as well as the landlord. Building a new balcony is a different project, and it is not householder permitted development.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listings in this set. Page updated October 2026.
- Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Class A (retrieved October 2026)
- Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls, planning permission (retrieved October 2026)
- Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls, building regulations (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.WALES: planning permission for fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved October 2026)
- Scottish Government: Circular 1/2024, Class 3E (retrieved October 2026)
- Northern Ireland GPDO 2015, Part 3 Class A (retrieved October 2026)
- Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, Part 8, high hedges (retrieved October 2026)
- HM Land Registry: boundaries and boundary disputes (retrieved October 2026)