Document
Lawful Development Certificate
Proves that something you have built, or intend to build, is lawful and needs no planning permission. It is a certificate of fact, not a judgement of merit.
- The tier this usually sits in
- HouseholderThe tier this usually sits in
- Wren, for a case at that tier
- £499Wren, for a case at that tier
- Specimen you can read in full
- PublishedSpecimen you can read in full
- Sections inside it
- 6Sections inside it
What is inside
Section by section.
- 01Whether the certificate is for an existing use, under section 191, or a proposed one, under section 192
- 02A precise description of the works or the use
- 03The permitted development right relied on, by Schedule, Part and Class
- 04Or the immunity period relied on, and the evidence for it
- 05Each limit and condition of that Class, addressed one at a time
- 06The evidence relied on, and its weight
When it is required
Why a council asks for this.
Sections 191 and 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the General Permitted Development Order 2015. This is determined on law and evidence, not on planning policy, so the document does not argue merit and the drafter is instructed not to.
| Required when |
|---|
| You want formal confirmation that a proposal is permitted development |
| You need proof of lawfulness for a sale, a mortgage or a lender |
| An existing use or building has become immune from enforcement |
Why it exists
Documents answer constraints.
A council does not ask for this because it likes paperwork. It asks because something on or near your site triggers it, and the appraisal will tell you whether yours is triggered before you pay for anything.
Asked and answered
About the Lawful Development Certificate.
Do I need a certificate if my work is permitted development anyway?
Often alongside
Documents that usually travel with it.
The main written case for a planning application. It describes the site and the proposal, then argues the scheme against the policies your council will actually decide it under.
Identifies the heritage assets a scheme affects, explains what makes each of them significant, and assesses honestly what your proposal would do to that significance.
For development that is already permitted in principle, but where the council still gets a say on specific matters. Larger extensions and office-to-residential conversions are the common ones.
Submitted after permission is granted, to satisfy the conditions attached to it. Most permissions cannot be built out until these are cleared.
Find out whether your site needs one.
The appraisal names the route, lists the documents that route requires, and prices the set before you commit to anything.