Change of Use: What Needs Planning Permission?

What "change of use" actually means

Every building or piece of land has a planning "use". Changing from one use to another can count as development that needs permission — but not always. Whether you need to apply depends on which use classes are involved and whether a permitted development right or prior approval route covers your change.

The key questions are:

• What is the current lawful use?
• What use do you want to move to?
• Are both uses in the same use class, or does a specific right allow the change?
• Do any conditions, an Article 4 direction, or the building's location remove those rights?

Use Class E: the flexible one

Use Class E covers a broad mix of commercial, business and service uses — think shops, cafés and restaurants, offices, gyms, clinics, nurseries and light industrial uses compatible with a residential area.

The big advantage is flexibility:

• You can generally move between uses within Class E without planning permission.
• So a former office could become a shop, or a shop a gym, without a change-of-use application.

But watch out for:

• Building works (extensions, shopfronts, extraction, ventilation) may still need permission.
• Planning conditions on the site can restrict or remove Class E freedoms.
• Article 4 directions can switch off permitted rights in specific areas.

Sui Generis: uses in a class of their own

Some uses don't fit any class and are called Sui Generis (Latin for "of its own kind"). Common examples include pubs and drinking establishments, hot food takeaways, cinemas, launderettes, betting shops and petrol stations.

Because these sit outside the ordinary classes:

• Moving into or out of a Sui Generis use usually needs a planning application.
• There is far less automatic flexibility than with Class E.

Class MA: commercial to residential

Class MA is a permitted development right allowing certain Class E premises to change to residential (Class C3) through prior approval rather than a full application.

Key points:

• It comes with qualifying conditions (for example the building must have been in the relevant use for a set period, and there are floorspace and vacancy considerations).
• It does not apply everywhere — conservation areas, listed buildings and some other locations are excluded or restricted.
• The council assesses defined matters only, such as flooding, contamination, transport, noise and the provision of adequate natural light to habitable rooms.

Where Class MA doesn't apply, or you fail a prior approval test, a full planning application is the fallback.

How prior approval works

Prior approval sits between "no application needed" and "full permission". You submit details so the council can check the specific issues the legislation allows them to consider. If they don't respond within the statutory determination period, approval can in some cases be deemed granted — but don't rely on this without checking the exact rules for your route.

Application fees and local requirements vary by borough. For fee levels and how quickly your council tends to decide, see /boroughs and /league-tables.

Quick checklist before you commit

• Confirm the current lawful use in writing where possible.
• Check for conditions on past permissions.
• Check for an Article 4 direction in your area.
• Check conservation area or listed status.
• Decide whether you need nothing, prior approval, or full permission.

This is general information, not legal advice. Planning rules change and are applied locally — always confirm the position with your borough before acting.