What is a lawful development certificate is best answered by the two kinds there are: the certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development, which confirms that a use or a building is lawful because it had permission, was permitted development or has passed the enforcement time limit; and the certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development, which confirms in advance that what is proposed does not need planning permission, usually because it is permitted development, which is why it is searched for as a permitted development certificate. Lawful development certificates are not permissions and decide no planning merits: a lawful development certificate application is decided on evidence and law alone. This page sets out the two certificates, the evidence each needs, and what the file keeps.
The certificate for an existing use or development
The applicant has to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the use or the building is lawful: that it had permission and complies with it, that it was permitted development when carried out, or that it has been in place for longer than the enforcement time limit for that kind of breach. The evidence is dated: photographs, invoices, council tax and rates records, tenancy agreements, statutory declarations from people who know the site. The authority does not weigh the merits and cannot refuse because it dislikes the use; it grants if the evidence is sufficient and refuses if it is not, and a refusal may be appealed.
The certificate for a proposed use or development
The applicant describes what is proposed in enough detail for the authority to decide whether it needs permission, and the authority certifies that it does not, usually because it falls within a permitted development right or within the same use class, or refuses because it does. A certificate obtained before the work is the applicant's protection against a later dispute, and a lender or a buyer will often ask for one. The fee for a certificate of lawfulness is set by the regulations, half the fee of the equivalent application for a proposed certificate, and the cost of planning application sheet on this site costs the certificate with its evidence and its agent.
What the file keeps
The certificate, the use or development it certifies in the words the authority used, the evidence that supported it and its dates, the class or permitted development right it relied on, and the enforcement time limit where that was the ground. Consentvia Pro keeps the certificate of lawfulness application against the site alongside any permission, so the next change of use, the retrospective question or the sale starts from a record of what is lawful and why; the guidance cited below is where the certificates are set out.
Questions people ask about what is a lawful development certificate
Is a lawful development certificate the same as planning permission?
No. It certifies that something is lawful, either because it had permission, was permitted development or has passed the time limit, or that a proposal needs no permission. It decides no merits and grants nothing new.
What evidence do I need for a certificate of lawfulness of existing use?
Enough to show, on the balance of probabilities, when the use began or the building was completed and that it has continued: dated photographs, invoices, council tax records, tenancies and statutory declarations are the usual set. The guidance cited below sets out the test.
Does a certificate of lawfulness expire?
A certificate of an existing use or development stands unless the facts change; a certificate of a proposed use or development stands while the law and the facts on which it was granted stand, so a change in permitted development rights can overtake it.
Sources
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Lawful development certificates: the certificate of lawfulness for existing and proposed use or development
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Ensuring effective enforcement: the time limits for enforcement action and the retrospective application
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Fees for planning applications: how the fee for each type is worked