CLOPUD: establish the route before the work
A Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development is an application under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The statutory question is whether the described use or operations would be lawful if begun at the application date. [1]
For a permitted development extension, that means establishing the relevant property eligibility, existing situation, proposed dimensions and compliance with the applicable conditions. The council is not deciding whether to make an exception because the project is well designed. [4][5]
Provide a clear existing-and-proposed drawing set and explain the legal route relied on. Where a separate prior-approval condition is relevant, identify how it is satisfied rather than assuming the certificate replaces that process. [4][5]
CLEUD: establish what already exists
A Certificate of Lawfulness of Existing Use or Development is an application under section 191. It can concern an existing use, operations already carried out or a specified failure to comply with a planning condition or limitation. The evidence must match the particular claim. [2]
An existing project may be lawful because it was authorised or complied with permitted development, or because enforcement is no longer available in the relevant circumstances. These are different legal bases: “it has been there for years” is not a complete explanation. [4][2]
For an existing-use claim, government guidance places the evidential burden on the applicant and explains the balance-of-probabilities approach. Evidence needs to be sufficiently precise and unambiguous. Identify what each record establishes about the use or operations and the relevant dates, rather than submitting an unexplained collection of historic material. [4]
The enforcement time limits changed on 25 April 2024
For operational development substantially completed on or after 25 April 2024, the ordinary enforcement period is 10 years. For an unauthorised change of use to a single dwellinghouse occurring on or after that date, it is also 10 years. [6]
The previous 4-year period can still be relevant to operational development substantially completed before 25 April 2024, and to a change of use to a single dwellinghouse before that date. Other breaches generally already had a 10-year period. It is therefore wrong either to promise that every old project becomes lawful after four years or to apply the new rule retrospectively to every historic case. [6]
Dates are not the only issue. Enforcement history and exceptions can affect the result. An existing certificate must establish the relevant legal test, not merely show that a building first appeared in a photograph a particular number of years ago. [6][2]
Which route for a partly completed project?
Describe the actual position accurately. Separate completed operations or an existing use from further work which remains proposed, and identify the application needed for the question to be determined. A generic description such as “extension” may conceal that distinction. [4]
Refusal of a certificate can mean the evidence was insufficient. Depending on the reasons, options can include providing better evidence, appealing or considering a planning application. A certificate and a retrospective permission are not interchangeable outcomes. [4][3]
Neither certificate is building control sign-off
Both certificate types concern planning. They do not supply building regulations approval, listed building consent or permission under private title arrangements. Keep those questions separate, particularly when reviewing a property for purchase. [4]