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What is a lawful development certificate?
If you want formal confirmation that the existing use of a building is lawful for planning purposes, or that your proposed development does not require planning permission, you can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate(LDC). An LDC can be useful in situations where you need assurance that a particular use, operation, or development is lawful under planning legislation.
Read more about Lawful Development Certificates.
Applications for a Lawful Development Certificate can be submitted online to your local council using Planning Portal. You must include enough detail and evidence to support your case; if the information is insufficient, your application may be refused.
Common Questions
You do not need planning permission to move internal walls.
Removing a load bearing wall will require building control approval as it is altering the structure of the property. You will be required to provide a report from a structural engineer who will provide structural calculations.
Work on internal walls may also affect fire escape routes, ventilation, drainage or electrics. These should be considered during the design process and work should be carried out by a member of the competent person scheme where possible.
A dropped kerb is a sloping point in the pavement to provide access by vehicle to a property. Dropped kerbs aren’t usually a planning matter although it is recommended that you contact your local authority to find out if planning permission is required, and you will need to make a specific dropped kerb application for a domestic vehicle crossing licence to your local authority.
Work to create a dropped kerb must be carried out by a New Roads and Street Works Act accredited contractor.
When you, or an agent acting on your behalf, have submitted a planning application, the local authority will firstly check the application to check if it’s complete. This validation process allows the authority to ensure everything that is required to decide an application has been received and provided correctly. They will contact you if they require any further information from you.
After the application has been validated, the determination process begins and takes up to 8 weeks for smaller applications, or up to 13 weeks for larger applications. The authority should be able to give you an idea about the likely timetable. The local authority will contact you with their decision.
Read more about the decision-making process for planning applications.
Rules governing outbuildings apply to sheds, playhouses, greenhouses and garages as well as other ancillary garden buildings such as swimming pools, ponds, sauna cabins, kennels, enclosures (including tennis courts) and many other kinds of structures for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse.
If you are unsure if your planned building falls into the category of 'outbuildings' or if you are unsure if planning permission is required, please contact your local planning authority.
Outbuildings are considered to be permitted development, not needing planning permission, subject certain limits and conditions.
Rendering or cladding the exterior walls of your house may fall under permitted development rights, meaning an application for planning permission is not required provided you meet certain limits and requirements set out in legislation.
If you live in a listed building, you will need listed building consent for any significant works whether internal or external.
If you live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Broads, you will need to apply for planning permission before cladding the outside of your house with stone, artificial stone, pebble dash, render, timber, plastic or tiles.
Outside these areas, cladding may be carried out without having to first apply for planning permission provided the materials are of a similar appearance to those used in the construction of the house.
If the new materials will not have a similar appearance to those previously used you will be required to submit an application for planning permission.
Read more about change to external walls on our common project.
Replacing existing render
Replacing existing render on the outside of your house with render of a similar appearance will not require planning permission as it is considered permitted development.
If you are changing the external appearance of the house or in a protected area such as a conservation area, then planning permission will be required. The external appearance of the house is likely to be changed when you are changing the type or colour of the render.
If the building is listed, then you will need listed building consent.
