Lawful Development Certificate drawings from £575
Built within permitted development? Get it in writing from the council. We survey, draw the work to the rules and apply for the certificate for a fixed fee.
£575 £425 drawings + £150 survey (£575 total), no VAT to add
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The short answer
A Lawful Development Certificate is the council’s written confirmation that work is lawful without planning permission. For something you plan to build, it is granted under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Our fee is £425 drawings + £150 survey (£575 total), no VAT to add, plus the council’s own fee.
Permitted development drawings and Lawful Development Certificate
from £575
- Drawings
- £425
- Measured survey
- £150
- Total you pay
- £575
- VAT
- None to add
- A measured survey of the house, so the drawings are of your property, not a template
- Existing and proposed plans and elevations, drawn to show each permitted development limit being met
- The application form, the location plan and the supporting statement the council expects
- Submission to your council, and answers to any questions from the officer
- A switch to prior approval or a householder application if the certificate is not the right route
- An independent check of every sheet, and free redraws of our drawings until approval
£425 drawings + £150 survey (£575 total). A starting fee: we confirm one fixed figure after checking your address. The council’s own fee, where there is one, is paid to the council.
Get my fixed feeHow a certificate application runs with us
Rights check
We look for an Article 4 direction, a condition on an earlier permission, conservation area or listed status, and earlier extensions that count towards the limits.
Survey
We measure the house and garden so heights, depths and distances to boundaries are exact, because the council judges on numbers.
Drawings to the rules
Each sheet is annotated with the limit it tests: depth, height, eaves, roof volume, curtilage cover.
Application
We submit the certificate application with its forms and statement and the council fee.
Certificate or redraw
The council decides on the facts. If it asks for changes we redraw at no charge.
Why have the certificate if you have the right already?
Permitted development gives you the right, and the certificate gives you the proof. A buyer’s solicitor, a lender or a neighbour who complains will each ask which one you have, and a letter from the council settles it. Under section 192, once a certificate is granted the development in it must be presumed lawful, unless something material changes before you start.
The certificate covers planning law only. It does not remove the need for building regulations approval, listed building consent or any licence, which is why we draw the technical set separately.
The numbers the council checks
The council tests your drawings against Schedule 2 of the permitted development order. A rear extension may reach 3 metres on a terrace or semi and 4 metres on a detached house. A loft may add 40 cubic metres to a terrace and 50 to any other house. An outbuilding is capped at 2.5 metres high within 2 metres of a boundary, and buildings together may cover no more than half the garden.
A certificate decision is made on the facts, and planning merits are not relevant. That makes the drawings the whole case: if a dimension is missing, the council may refuse, and a refusal does not stop you applying again with more information.
- Rear extension: 3 m (terrace, semi) or 4 m (detached), 4 m high
- Loft: 40 m³ (terrace) or 50 m³ (other houses), no higher than the ridge
- Outbuilding: 2.5 m high within 2 m of a boundary, 4 m with a dual-pitched roof
- Everything built, apart from the original house, under 50% of the garden
Where the certificate is not the answer
In a conservation area, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a National Park, the rights are narrower: side extensions and roof additions are not permitted at all. These are known as article 2(3) land. If an Article 4 direction has removed the right, no certificate can be granted for that work.
We tell you which of these applies before the application goes in, and move you to a householder application when that is what the house needs.
Lawful development certificates in numbers
s192(4)
Once granted, the development in a certificate must be presumed lawful unless something material changes before work begins.
Source: Planning Practice Guidance: lawful development certificates (GOV.UK)
½ fee
The council fee for a certificate for proposed development is half the application fee for the same work.
£548
The full householder application fee from 1 April 2026, of which a proposed-development certificate pays half.
Source: Planning fees: annual indexation from 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK)
0
Neighbours the council must consult on a certificate application, because planning merits are not considered.
Source: Planning Practice Guidance: lawful development certificates (GOV.UK)
3 m / 4 m
Deepest single-storey rear extension permitted: 3 metres on a terrace or semi, 4 metres on a detached house.
40 m³
Loft volume permitted development allows on a terraced house; 50 cubic metres on any other house.
2.5 m
Highest an outbuilding may be within 2 metres of a boundary.
50%
Most of the garden that buildings, other than the original house, may cover.
Part 1, Sch 1
Conservation areas, National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty are all article 2(3) land with narrower rights.
Source: GPDO 2015, article 2: interpretation, article 2(3) land (legislation.gov.uk)
Questions about the certificate
How long does a certificate last?
The development must be begun in line with the certificate, and the guidance says it holds unless a material change, such as a new Article 4 direction or a change to the permitted development rights, comes before work starts. So build soon after you get it.
Source: Planning Practice Guidance: lawful development certificates (GOV.UK)
What if the council refuses?
A refusal does not always mean the work is unlawful; it can mean the council did not have enough evidence. We answer the officer’s points and, if needed, redraw and reapply.
Can I get a certificate for something already built?
Yes, that is a certificate for existing development under section 191, and the fee is the same as for a new application. We draw the work as built.
Does the certificate replace building regulations?
No. Building regulations are separate, and so is a party wall notice. Our building regulations drawings cover the technical side.
Put it in writing before you build
Send the address and what you plan. We reply with whether it fits permitted development and a fixed fee, from £425 drawings + £150 survey (£575 total).