Certificates of Lawful Development

Certificates of lawful development can be incredibly valuable, in various situations. These are normally matters of law rather than planning policy so it’s important to understand the rules for any particular type of development.

It may be that you’re looking to sell your property and you’re not sure whether you should have applied for planning permission when you built that conservatory or garage 20 years ago.

You might want to convert an outbuilding in your garden to an annex for your kids/parents and you’re not sure if planning permission will be required.

Certificates of lawful development can also be useful when the enforcement officer has knocked on your door about the extension the previous owners built - if you can convince them planning permission wasn’t required, or that the time period for enforcement has passed, then this will stop any further action being taken.

Whatever the scenario, we’re here to advise you, or help prepare an application to make sure all the boxes are ticked to give the best chance of a successful outcome.

If any of these scenarios apply to you we’d be delighted to hear from you so we can see how we can help with your certificate application.