For owners, landlords and developers in England
Do I Need Planning Permission in England?
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 6 min read
The short answer
In England, any development needs planning permission: building work, or a material change in how land or a building is used. Many smaller projects are already granted it by permitted development rights.
- Works that affect only the inside, or do not materially change how a building looks, are not development at all.
- Switching between two uses within one use class is not development; moving to another class usually is.
- A listed building needs listed building consent for works that affect its character, even when no planning permission is needed.
- A lawful development certificate gives you the council's answer in writing before you build or buy.
Do I need planning permission? In England, you need it for any development, which in law means building work or a material change of use. Many smaller projects already have permission through permitted development rights, so no application is needed.
The hard part is knowing which side of the line your project sits on. A flat, a listed building or a conservation area changes the answer. Guess wrong and the council can take enforcement action. Before you commit money, talk to a planning consultant who reads the planning history first.
Planning permission, prior approval or no application at all? Send us the address and what you want to do. Our free site appraisal tells you the route, and what the building could become. This guide takes the questions in the order the law asks them.
What counts as development in planning law
Section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is short: "planning permission is required for the carrying out of any development of land". So the first question is whether your project is development at all.
Section 55 gives two limbs. Development is "building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land". It is also "any material change in the use of any buildings or other land". Building operations include demolition, rebuilding and structural alterations.
The same section lists what is not development. These are the ones owners meet most:
- Internal works. Works that affect only the interior, or do not materially affect the external appearance, are outside planning control.
- Garden uses. Using land around a house for a purpose incidental to living there is not development.
- Same-class changes. Moving between two uses in the same use class is not development.
One exception catches people out. The interior rule does not cover works that add space underground. A new basement is development, even if nothing shows from the street.
| Project | Development? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New kitchen, internal walls | Usually not | Affects only the interior (s55(2)(a)) |
| New basement under a house | Yes | Underground space is excluded from the interior rule |
| Rear extension or loft dormer | Yes | A building operation, often covered by permitted development |
| House split into two flats | Yes | A material change of use (s55(3)(a)) |
| Shop to café | Usually not | Both are in Class E |
Permitted development rights and Class MA
Development is not always a planning application. Section 58 lets a development order grant permission in advance. The General Permitted Development Order 2015 does this for the classes in its Schedule 2. Each class comes with its own limits and conditions.
Several limits apply across the order:
- Houses, not flats. For householder rights, a "dwellinghouse" does not include a building containing flats. An extension to a flat needs an application.
- Lawful starting point. The rights do not apply where the existing building or use is itself unlawful.
- Minimum home size. New homes under 37 square metres, or below the nationally described space standard, are excluded.
- Article 4 directions. A council can remove a right across an area, or for one property. You then need a full application.
The limits for extensions, lofts and outbuildings are set out in our guide to permitted development rights.
Class MA: commercial buildings to homes
Class MA is a key right for owners of commercial buildings. It allows a change from Class E (commercial, business and service) to Class C3 homes. It is not automatic. You must apply to the council for prior approval first.
Since 5 March 2024, the old floor space cap and vacancy test no longer apply. Once prior approval is granted, the conversion must be completed within three years. The full process is in our guide to commercial to residential permitted development.
Change of use: when it needs planning permission
A change of use needs planning permission when it is material. The Use Classes Order 1987 makes the test easier. It groups similar uses into classes, and a move inside one class is not development in England.
| Class | What it covers |
|---|---|
| C1 | Hotels, boarding and guest houses |
| C3 | Dwellinghouses, used by one household, including up to six residents living together as a single household |
| C4 | Small houses in multiple occupation, for not more than six residents |
| E | Shops, cafés and restaurants, offices, gyms, clinics, nurseries and light industry |
| B2 / B8 | General industry / storage and distribution |
| Sui generis | Outside every class: pubs, hot food takeaways, betting offices, nightclubs, cinemas |
Class E is wide. A shop can become a café, an office or a gym without an application. A sui generis use is the opposite: any change into or out of it is usually material.
Homes have their own rule. The Act says using a single house as two or more separate homes is a material change of use. Splitting a house into flats needs planning permission. A house shared by more than six people falls outside Class C4 as well.
Moving between classes may still have a permitted development route, such as Class MA. If there is no route, it is a planning application.
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Listed buildings and conservation areas
Heritage rules sit on top of planning rules. A project can need no planning permission and still need consent for the heritage side.
Listed buildings. Section 7 of the Listed Buildings Act 1990 bars works to demolish, alter or extend a listed building in a way that affects its character. The works need listed building consent first. The test is the effect on the building's special architectural or historic character. Check any change with the council before you start.
Works without consent are a criminal offence under section 9. On indictment, the penalty can be up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. Planning permission does not stand in for listed building consent. Many projects need both.
Conservation areas. Councils designate them under section 69 of the same Act. In the permitted development order they are "article 2(3) land", where several householder rights are narrower. Demolishing an unlisted building in a conservation area in England can need planning permission. Doing it without the required permission is an offence under section 196D.
Heritage limits do not stop a scheme. They change how it is designed and argued. At Allitsen Road in St John's Wood, a vacant corner building in a conservation area became four costed options in four weeks.
The LDC route: proof in writing before you build
A lawful development certificate (LDC) is the council's written answer to "is this lawful?". It is not planning permission. It confirms that no permission is needed, or that the use or works are already lawful.
There are two kinds:
- Proposed use or works (section 192). The council confirms that the project "would be lawful if instituted or begun at the time of the application". Use it for a permitted development extension or a same-class change.
- Existing use or works (section 191). The council confirms that something already there is lawful. That includes works where the time for enforcement has passed.
The enforcement clock matters for section 191. In England, a council usually has ten years from the breach to take action. Since 25 April 2024, that applies to building works and to a change of use to a single house.
An LDC helps when the answer is close, or when a buyer will want the position in writing. Our guide to the lawful development certificate explains the evidence a council expects.
Permission, prior approval or no application: you do not have to guess. Tell us where the property is and what you plan, then get a free site appraisal. We check the use class, the planning history and any heritage limits.
You come away with the route and a view of what the building could become. Our Development Director, Rob Barton, took 10,000+ homes through planning in his previous roles.
Class MA: the main tests
- The building has been in Class E use for a continuous period of at least two years.
- It is not a listed building, or within the curtilage of one.
- It is not in a National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a World Heritage Site.
- Every habitable room has adequate natural light.
- The council considers transport, contamination, flooding and noise at prior approval.
- In a conservation area, the council also judges any change to the ground floor.
