Houses converted to small HMOs
Redbridge provides a clear example: its borough-wide direction took effect on 6 December 2019 and removed the permitted development right to change a dwellinghouse in Class C3 to a small HMO in Class C4. Its guidance distinguishes changes after that date from an existing lawful use. [1]
For a particular property, establish the current lawful use and the date any change occurred. Do not assume a description in a rental advertisement proves the planning position. A direction concerning C3-to-C4 changes is not a complete guide to every type of shared housing, and an HMO licensing question is separate from the planning question. [1]
Offices and other Class E premises converted to homes
The current check is not limited to the word “office”. Kensington and Chelsea publishes directions relating to changes from Class E commercial, business and service uses to Class C3 residential use in defined locations. Its page also contains the directions and mapping needed to check the affected land. [2]
Use the current direction rather than assuming an old office-conversion restriction covers an identical area or the same development class today. Where the relevant right has been removed, the applicant cannot rely on that permitted development route simply by submitting the usual prior-approval information. [4] [2]
Basement development
Kensington and Chelsea's basement direction took effect on 28 April 2016 and concerns specified basement development at single dwellinghouses across the borough. This illustrates a restriction aimed at physical building work rather than a change of use. [2]
Read the instrument against the whole proposal, including excavation and associated external changes. A direction withdrawing a right is different from a basement design policy: the first helps determine the application route; the second helps assess a proposal that needs permission. Neither should be treated as the other. [4] [2]
Conservation-area details
Other directions control alterations to particular houses or streets. Kensington and Chelsea identifies controls that can concern windows, doors, roof coverings and boundary walls. Redbridge likewise publishes directions with the accompanying maps for named locations. [3] [5]
These directions can be selective about the elevation or operation. Avoid a blanket statement that an entire conservation area has lost every right, or that a rear alteration is outside control merely because the front of the street is the main heritage feature. Read what the document actually withdraws. [4]
Use the examples as a checking method
For each project, record the council, direction reference, affected development class, map boundary, effective date and any later amendment. Keep different directions separate: a property can require more than one check.
The August 2026 NPPF's policy DM10 sets the national approach to Article 4 directions, including evidence and geographical scope. It does not replace the local documents or retrospectively make a particular property's use lawful. [6]
The examples here explain the main types; they are not a complete register of directions across London's 32 boroughs. For an investment or construction decision, verify the precise address and current lawful position.