Lawful Development Certificate - Existing

Also referred to as a Certificate of Lawfulness. A Lawful Development Certificate - Existing where you wish to confirm that any existing use, or operation, or activity in breach of a condition or limitation on a planning permission that has already taken place is lawful on the date specified in the application. It is defined as being lawful if enforcement action cannot be taken against it. This may be because it had, or did not need planning permission, or it may be the case that the use or operation took place so long ago that the time for enforcement action has expired. A four year period  applies to dwellings and built development, and ten years to changes of use. We are able to advise you on the merits of submitting a Lawful Development Certificate application, and can submit an application on your behalf. For further information on LDC's see the Applications page. For advice on LDC's Contact Us