The General Permitted Development Order Explained

What the General Permitted Development Order 2015 does

The Order was made on 18 March 2015 and came into force on 15 April 2015. The Secretary of State made it under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It is a statutory instrument, numbered S.I. 2015/596.

Article 3 is the engine. It grants planning permission for every class of development described in Schedule 2. That grant replaces the planning application, but it comes with rules that apply to every Class:

1. Limits and conditions. Each permission is subject to the exceptions, limitations and conditions written into its Class.
2. A lawful starting point. No right applies if the existing building or the existing use is unlawful.
3. Old planning conditions. The Order permits nothing contrary to a condition on an earlier planning permission.
4. Space standards. Since 6 April 2021, no new home may be under 37 square metres or fall short of the nationally described space standard.
5. Demolition. The Order permits demolition of a building only through Part 11, Classes B and C.

The lawful starting point is where many schemes fail. A lawful development certificate proves the existing use, or confirms a proposed one, before you commit money to drawings.

Not sure of your building's lawful use? Send us the address, and we read the use before anything else.

The Parts and Classes that matter to developers

Schedule 2 holds 20 Parts, from minor operations to mining. Each Part is split into Classes, and each Class is a separate right with its own tests. The table shows the Parts a residential developer meets most often.

Part 1 is the householder Part. It covers what a homeowner can add to a house without an application. Our guide to permitted development rights in London sets out those rules in full.

The rest of this guide covers Parts 3, 20 and 11. These are the rights that turn one building into several homes.

Part 3: changes of use between use classes

Part 3 lets a building move from one use class to another without a planning application. Each Class names the use you start from and the use you end with.

Class MA is the right most developers ask about. The building must have been in Class E use for a continuous period of at least two years. Listed buildings, National Parks and some other protected areas are excluded. Our guide to commercial to residential under Class MA works through the tests in detail.

Several old Classes have gone. Classes B to F, J, JA and K were removed on 1 August 2021, after the use classes were rewritten. Which class your building sits in decides which right applies, so start with use classes explained.

Part 20: new storeys and Class ZA rebuilds

Part 20 creates new homes in or on existing buildings. Its Classes are named by the building they apply to:

1. Class A. New homes on a detached block of flats.
2. Class AA. New homes on a detached building in commercial or mixed use.
3. Class AB. New homes on a terrace building in commercial or mixed use.
4. Class AC. New homes on a terrace building used as houses.
5. Class AD. New homes on a detached building used as a house.

Classes A, AA, AC and AD allow up to two additional storeys. The building must have been built between 1 July 1948 and 5 March 2018. Each Class works through a prior approval application to the council.

The council fee is per home. For fewer than 10 homes it is £441 each; between 10 and 50 it is £476 each.

Class ZA is different. It allows a building to be demolished and replaced by homes. The old building must be a detached office, research and development or light industrial building, or a purpose-built detached block of flats.

Part 20 schemes are housebuilding on top of, or in place of, an existing building. Our Development Director, Rob Barton, previously delivered 4,000+ homes as a housebuilding managing director. Send us the building, and we tell you which Part 20 Class it could meet.

Part 11: demolition under Class B

Part 11 Class B permits "any building operation consisting of the demolition of a building". The right has firm exclusions. It does not apply where:

1. Neglect made it unsafe. Someone with an interest in the land caused the danger, and repair or temporary support is practicable.
2. Conservation area. The demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area needs planning permission instead.
3. Pubs. The building is, or was last, a drinking establishment, with or without expanded food.
4. Venues. The building is, or was last, a concert hall, a live music venue or a theatre.
5. Monuments. A statue, memorial or monument has stood for at least 10 years, subject to listed exceptions.

Where Class B applies, you first ask the council whether its prior approval is needed. The question covers only the method of demolition and any restoration of the site. Our guide to prior approval for demolition covers the steps.

You must display a site notice for at least 21 days within the 28 days after you apply. Work may start when the council says approval is not needed, when it gives approval, or after 28 days with no decision.

Planning to clear a site? Check the exclusions against the building's last use and its location before you instruct a demolition contractor.

Conditions, limits and prior approval

Prior approval is not a planning application. The Order has already granted the principle. The council checks only the matters the Class lists, and nothing else.

For Class MA the matters are set out in paragraph MA.2(2):

1. Transport. Transport impacts of the development.
2. Contamination and flooding. Contamination risks on the site, and flooding risks.
3. Noise. Noise from commercial premises on the people who will live there.
4. Natural light. Adequate natural light in every habitable room.
5. Location. Ground floors in conservation areas, industrial areas, and the loss of registered nurseries and health centres.
6. Fire safety. Fire safety, for buildings that meet the height test in the Order.

The council has 56 days to decide a Part 3 application. If it notifies no decision in that time, the development may begin. Missing information is a ground for refusal, so the reports go in complete.

Approval also starts a clock. Class MA homes must be completed within three years of the prior approval date. That is why we fix the build programme before the application is lodged.

Every new home must meet the space standard too, whatever the Class. A scheme that passes the prior approval matters can still fail on room sizes. Test every flat layout against the standard before the application goes in.

Article 4 directions: when a right is removed

Article 4 of the Order lets a council, or the Secretary of State, switch a right off. It can do so where it is satisfied that development should need a planning application instead. A direction can cover a whole Part or Class across an area, or one named development.

London councils use this power widely. The City of London has removed Class MA for offices across all its land since 1 August 2022. On 2 November 2026 we verified Class MA directions in 15 London boroughs. Newham and Tower Hamlets each have one against small HMOs.

A direction does not always stop a scheme already under way. Article 4(2)(a) protects development needing prior approval where the prior approval date came before the direction took effect. The work must still be completed within three years of that date.

Some rights cannot be removed this way, such as the new Part 7 Class CA for reverse vending machines. The live maps change, so we read them for every address. Our guide to Article 4 directions in London lists the boroughs and what each direction covers.

GPDO amendments from 2024 to 2026

The Order is amended often. The table lists the changes made from 2024 to 2026 that touch development in England. We read each instrument on legislation.gov.uk on 4 November 2026.

For developers, the 2024 Class MA change matters most. A building with two years of Class E use no longer needs to be vacant first. Large office and retail buildings are no longer capped by floor space.

The 2026 Orders mostly changed references. Paragraph W of Part 3 and the Part 20 procedure now point to the latest NPPF, not the July 2021 version.

Council fees sit in separate regulations. Rises to £323 for Class MA and £597 per home under Part 20 are proposed from 8 December 2026. The draft regulations had not been made on 4 November 2026.

A change can land between your purchase and your application. We check the current text for every scheme. Want to know where your building stands today? Get a free route check.