Class MA permitted development is the route in England by which a building in class E, a shop, an office, a clinic, a gym, may change to dwellinghouses without a planning application, subject to a prior approval application on the matters the class names and to the conditions and limits the class sets on floor space, vacancy and location. HMO permitted development is the separate right by which a dwellinghouse in class C3 may change to a small house in multiple occupation in class C4 and back, without an application, unless the authority has removed the right by an article 4 direction. Both are permitted development, both are used by small developers, and both are the route most often assumed to apply when it does not. This page sets out what each allows, what each needs, and what the file keeps.
Class MA: commercial to residential with prior approval
The class allows a change from class E to class C3 dwellinghouses where the building has been in class E use for the period the class requires and vacant for the period it requires, is within the floor space limit, and is not in the excluded areas or of the excluded kinds; the applicant then applies for prior approval on the matters the class lists, transport, contamination, flooding, noise, light, the loss of the commercial use in certain areas, and the authority has a set period to decide. It is not a planning application and is decided only on the listed matters, but it carries a fee, needs the reports those matters require, and fails on the conditions as often as on the matters. The cost sheet and the timeline sheet on this site take the fee and the prior approval period like any application.
The HMO route: class C3 to class C4 and back
A dwellinghouse may change to a small house in multiple occupation, occupied by three to six unrelated people sharing facilities, and back, under permitted development, so no application is needed unless the authority has made an article 4 direction removing the right, which many authorities with HMO concentrations have done. A larger HMO is sui generis and always needs an application. The file has to keep whether an article 4 direction applies to the site, because that single fact decides whether the change is an application or not, and the guide on the use classes on this site sets out C3, C4 and sui generis.
What the file keeps for a permitted development route
The class relied on and the conditions and limits it sets, the evidence that the building meets them, the dates the use and the vacancy periods are counted from, any article 4 direction, the prior approval application with its fee, its period and its decision, and the certificate of lawfulness where one was sought to confirm the right. Consentvia Pro keeps the prior approval as an application against the site with the class it relied on, so the next change on the same building starts from a record of what the right allowed and what was approved; the guidance cited below is where the classes are set out.
Questions people ask about class ma permitted development
Does class MA need planning permission?
No, it needs prior approval on the matters the class lists, provided the building meets the class's conditions on use, vacancy, floor space and location. If it does not meet them, a full change of use application is the route.
Can I change a house to an HMO without permission?
A small HMO for three to six people in class C4, yes, under permitted development, unless an article 4 direction removes the right in that area. A larger HMO is sui generis and always needs an application.
Is a prior approval decided like a planning application?
Only on the matters the class names, within the period the class sets, and the authority may not consider anything else. It carries a fee and needs the reports the matters require, and a refusal may be appealed.
Sources
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, When is permission required: development, change of use and the use classes
- legislation.gov.uk, The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended: the classes and what each covers
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Lawful development certificates: the certificate of lawfulness for existing and proposed use or development