Ownership is not the same as occupation
For these certificates, an owner includes a freeholder and a person with a lease having at least seven years left to run. A flat owner may therefore need to consider the freeholder and other qualifying interests, rather than assuming that owning their own lease is enough for Certificate A. [3]
Planning applications can be made without owning the land, but notification requirements still apply. The certificate does not give permission to enter somebody else's land or carry out works under a lease. [1][3]
Which certificate fits?
- Certificate A: the applicant is the only qualifying owner and the certificate's other declarations are satisfied.
- Certificate B: other owners are known, and the required notices have been served.
- Certificate C: some, but not all, other owners have been identified; the required steps include notifying known owners and publicising the application for those not identified.
- Certificate D: the other owners cannot be identified after the required enquiries; the prescribed publicity procedure is needed. [1][2]
Do not use C or D merely because obtaining an address is inconvenient. The requirements involve reasonable steps to identify the relevant owners, not a choice to bypass them. [2][4]
The dates are easy to confuse
The ownership notice rules refer to owners of the land on the day 21 days before the application date. That reference date is not a general instruction to serve every notice 21 days before submitting an application. The notification and consultation requirements must be followed in their own terms. [4]
Use the prescribed notice and keep evidence of what was served, on whom and when. Where an owner's identity cannot be established, check the newspaper-publication requirements rather than inventing an alternative such as a social-media announcement. The application certificate must confirm the relevant notice requirements have been met. [4][5]
A practical check before signing
Start with the precise red-line site, not just the postal address. List the qualifying ownership interests and obtain the names and service details needed. Check any agricultural declaration on the form as well; do not leave it unanswered simply because the project is domestic. [1][3]
For a shared drive, rear access or leasehold alteration, ask your conveyancer to resolve uncertain ownership information. Keep the certificate, notices and supporting records together with the submitted plans. If an error is discovered, tell the council promptly instead of signing a replacement certificate with dates that do not reflect what happened.
Uncertain ownership or defective notice service warrants legal advice before relying on the application.