Permitted development
Permitted development and Lawful Development Certificates
Permitted development and a Lawful Development Certificate are one planning route. A planning application is a different route: it asks the council for permission. Permitted development is work that meets national limits, so that application is not required, provided the house still has those rights.
The two parts of this route
- Permitted development is the right itself. The limits depend on the house. Rights can be removed by a condition on an earlier permission, or by an Article 4 direction. Flats, listed buildings and some designated areas are treated differently. The tests are in the householder technical guidance on GOV.UK and on the Planning Portal.
- A Lawful Development Certificate is the council’s written confirmation of that position. It is optional. Homeowners often want it before they build or sell. There is a certificate for proposed work and a certificate for something already there. GOV.UK explains both, and the Planning Portal explains how to apply.
The certificate confirms a planning position. Building regulations approval remains a separate check of how the work is built.
What the council usually asks for
An application for a proposed certificate needs a precise description of the work and drawings that show it. Existing and proposed plans and elevations are the usual set, with a location plan where the certificate needs one. The applicant provides enough information for the council to decide, and the council decides the certificate.
Planning, building regulations and calculations
Using permitted development settles the planning question for that house. It leaves the other two checks in place.
- Where the work sits outside the limits, the route is a planning application.
- Building regulations drawings are still normally required when a loft becomes a room or an extension is built. A certificate does not replace that approval. See GOV.UK.
- Structural calculations size any new beams, loft floor or roof. They are a separate stage from the planning drawings.
Common questions
What is the difference between permitted development and a planning application?
Permitted development is a set of national limits. Work that fits those limits, on a house that still has the rights, can proceed without a planning application. Work that sits outside the limits needs a planning application. The council can confirm which applies.
Is a Lawful Development Certificate the same as building regulations approval?
The certificate confirms a planning position. Building regulations approval is a separate check of how the work is built. GOV.UK makes that distinction. Both can apply to the same project.
Can you guarantee the council will issue the certificate?
Drawings can be prepared and submitted with the application. The local authority decides the certificate, and it decides any planning application.
A longer explanation is in planning permission and building regulations.
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