Lawful Development Certificate in Barnet from £575
Finchley, Golders Green, Mill Hill and Totteridge: Barnet sells a fast track on certificates, and ten conservation areas have Article 4 directions.
£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 your work is permitted development. In Barnet the question that decides it is the address: ten of the borough’s 16 conservation areas have Article 4 directions that remove rights, and a certificate cannot cover work whose right is gone. Barnet also sells a fast track on certificates, with an emailed review in as little as 1 to 15 working days. Our fee is £425 drawings + £150 survey (£575 total), no VAT to add; the council’s fee is separate.
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 show your property and not a template
- Existing and proposed plans and elevations drawn to show each permitted development limit being met
- A check of your address against Barnet’s conservation areas and Article 4 directions before you apply
- The application, forms and council fee submitted for you, with answers to the officer
- Advice on whether Barnet’s paid fast track is worth adding for your timetable
£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 Barnet certificate runs
Address check
We place the house against the 16 conservation areas and the ten with Article 4 directions.
Survey
We measure depths, heights and distances to the boundaries.
Drawings to the rules
Each sheet states the limit it tests.
Apply
We submit, and ask Barnet for a fast track first if you want one.
Barnet’s paid fast track for certificates
Barnet runs a Fast Track service that speeds up the administration and review of applications. The council says it does not affect how your application is considered, and each request is assessed first: it can refuse one depending on resources.
For conditions and certificate of lawfulness applications, the council lists five paid levels. Each puts the application through validation, which the council lists as one of its fast-track services, within 1 working day of receipt, and issues the decision notice within 1 working day of confirming support. The levels differ in how fast an emailed review arrives: £147.32 for 15 working days, £372.44 for 10, £442.59 for 5 and £587.36 for 2, all before VAT; the fastest, 1 working day, is £883.90. Ask before you apply, and once the council confirms, you have 5 working days to submit and pay. For example, a Totteridge owner with a builder starting in a month might take the 10-day level; most owners with a flexible date will not need it.
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions
Barnet lists 16 conservation areas, from College Farm and Finchley Church End to Hampstead Garden Suburb, Mill Hill, Monken Hadley, Totteridge and Wood Street. Its page says ten of them are covered by or have Article 4 directions in force, which means some works you can usually do without planning permission need consent.
A certificate cannot be granted for work whose right has been removed. We check your address first, and move you to a householder application when that is what the house needs. Those fast-track levels are therefore only worth buying once the rights check is clean. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a separate question: new floor area under 100 m² is exempt as minor development, but we confirm it before you build.
Rear extension drawings in Barnet · Loft conversion drawings in Barnet
Certificates in Barnet in numbers
1081 of 1136
Householder decisions by Barnet Council between July 2025 and June 2026 (prior approvals left out) that were made inside 8 weeks.
Source: MHCLG live table PS2, district planning application statistics, July 2025 to June 2026 (GOV.UK)
£147.32
Barnet’s entry fast track level for a certificate of lawfulness: an emailed review within 15 working days of registration, before VAT.
£883.90
Barnet’s fastest level, a review within 1 working day of registration, before VAT.
5 days
Working days you have to submit and pay once Barnet confirms a fast track request.
Source: Fast Track planning application service (Barnet Council)
100 m²
New floor area below which minor development is exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy, unless it creates a new dwelling.
Source: CIL Regulations 2010, regulation 42: exemption for minor development (legislation.gov.uk)
16
Conservation areas Barnet lists on its own page.
Source: Conservation areas, including Article 4 directions (Barnet Council)
10
Of those, the number covered by or with Article 4 directions in force, according to the council.
Source: Conservation areas, including Article 4 directions (Barnet Council)
Questions about certificates in Barnet
Can I pay Barnet for a faster certificate?
Yes, subject to the council’s agreement. Barnet’s fast track for certificates runs from £147.32 (15 working days) to £883.90 (1 working day), before VAT, on top of the application fee.
Is my road under an Article 4 direction?
Only if it is in one of the ten conservation areas Barnet says are covered. Send us the address and we check it before anything is drawn.
When do I ask for the fast track?
Before you submit. Barnet confirms availability, then you have 5 working days to apply and pay.
Will Barnet always agree to a fast track?
No. The council reserves the right to refuse requests, depending on resources and availability.
Put it in writing before you build in Barnet
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).