Eligible developers should test the route's detailed conditions; the package is not a general exemption from planning standards or a reason to deduct a proposed CIL discount from a current liability. [1][2]
The time-limited planning route
The package published on 25 March 2026 provides a route without an upfront viability assessment for qualifying housing schemes meeting adjusted affordable-housing thresholds and the other eligibility conditions. The headline threshold is 20% by habitable room on private land. Public land and industrial land where industrial floorspace capacity is not re-provided have a 35% threshold. Applications must be validated by 31 March 2028. [1]
“By habitable room” is not the same as counting flats. Establish the calculation with the accommodation schedule before treating a proposed mix as eligible. The detailed GLA guidance also distinguishes industrial sites where capacity is re-provided and utilities sites with evidence of substantial enabling and remediation costs. [3]
Eligibility and review still matter
The detailed guidance excludes Green Belt and grey belt, demolition of existing affordable housing, and certain schemes dominated by purpose-built student accommodation or co-living. The ordinary tenure requirement includes at least 60% Social Rent within the affordable housing; Build to Rent has separate provisions. An ordinary market-sale scheme should not borrow the rental route's terms. [3]
The route includes an early-stage review if the agreed substantial-implementation milestone is not reached within 30 months of permission, or another agreed period. The milestone is normally linked to construction up to a defined first-floor slab, subject to site-specific agreement. Simply undertaking a minor operation is not the same as satisfying the agreed review milestone. [3]
These requirements should be considered together. Meeting the headline affordable percentage does not establish that an excluded development is eligible, that the proposed tenure mix is acceptable or that the implementation obligation has been met. The published route is a package of conditions, not a percentage in isolation. [3]
What changed in design guidance?
The package withdrew the guidance benchmarks requiring dual-aspect provision through standard C4.1 and restricting homes per core through standard B2.5. It also introduced time-limited flexibility concerning cycle parking. However, London Plan Policy D6 remains in place. Withdrawal of particular guidance does not remove the need for acceptable housing quality, daylight, ventilation and a workable layout. [1][3]
For a live design, identify the specific benchmark being reconsidered and the remaining policy tests. Do not describe an entire design chapter as suspended because two standards have been withdrawn. The detailed guidance expressly retains the wider housing-quality assessment. [3]
CIL relief is a separate question
The government consulted on regulations for time-limited London CIL relief, following the package's proposal for a borough-CIL reduction. The consultation was published on 16 July 2026 and closed on 18 September 2026. A consultation document is not an operative exemption or a revised liability notice. [2][4]
Before incorporating relief into a financial appraisal, obtain the made regulations, commencement and eligibility provisions, and establish their effect on the particular charge. Assess CIL under the operative rules rather than treating a proposed relief as an established entitlement. [2]
Referral rules have already changed
The Mayoral referral amendment is different: its commencement on 11 May 2026 is confirmed by the statutory instrument record. A scheme must assess referral separately from eligibility for the temporary affordable-housing route. The dates and mechanisms are not interchangeable. [5]
Keep the planning route, funding arrangements, CIL assessment and implementation programme as separate checks. The package links several initiatives, but each has its own conditions and evidence requirements. [1]