Apply for a Household Lawful Development Certificate

You can apply for a Household Lawful Development Certificate for works to your home to confirm that the proposed works would be lawful, or that the existing works to your home did not require planning permission. 

This option is well worth considering even if you are sure your project is Permitted Development (more information here). If you should later want to sell your property, a Lawful Development Certificate may be helpful to answer queries raised by potential buyers or their legal representatives.  As such, it is important that all paperwork and records relating to your property are clear and up to date. 

What do I have to provide? 

To avoid delays in processing your planning application it is important that you provide the following. 

• Application Form ‘Proposed Use or Development’ under Section 192 (where the works to your home have not yet been carried out) or Application Form ‘Existing Use or Development’ under Section 191  (where the works to your home have been completed) 
• Location Plan.   One copy of the Location Plan at a scale of 1:1250 must be submitted ideally scaled to fit onto A4 or A3 paper. A North point must be shown and must identify sufficient roads and/or buildings on land adjoining the application site to ensure that the exact location of the application site is clear.   The location plan must identify the application site with  a red outline, and this must include all land necessary to carry out the proposed development – for example, land required for access to the site from a public highway, visibility splays, landscaping, car parking and the garden of a property.  Where other land owned by the applicant is close to or adjoins the application site this should be identified with a blue line.  
• Site plan.   All applications must include an existing and proposed site plan based on an up-to-date map and at an identified standard metric scale (typically1:100 or 1:200) The site plan(s) must show the direction north along with the proposed footprint of the development within the context of all existing buildings falling within 10 metres of the development. The site plans should also provide written dimensions and distances from the elevations of the proposed development to both: i) The existing site boundaries and ii) The existing buildings falling within 10 metres of the development.   An example of best practice:  existing and proposed.

The following information should also be shown, unless these would not influence or be affected by the proposed development:  

• All the buildings, roads and footpaths on land adjoining the site including access arrangements;  
• All public rights of way crossing or adjoining the site;  
• The position of all existing trees on the site (including the canopy), and those on adjacent land;  
• The extent and type of any hard surfacing;  
• Boundary treatment including the type and height of walls or fencing.  

• Elevations.  Existing and proposed elevations must be submitted for an application involving new development and/or where existing buildings are altered by the proposed development. All elevations must be provided including any blank elevations unless visibility is completely obscured e.g. attached to another building. Elevations must be submitted at the acceptable metric scale of 1:50 or 1:100 and clearly labelled North, East, South and West etc. Please note that Front, back side etc. is not considered acceptable. Proposed building materials and the style, material and finish of windows and doors should be indicated. Existing and proposed elevations must match relevant floor plans. Where a proposed elevation adjoins/is near another building the relationship between the two buildings should be shown and detail the position of any openings in each property. 
• Floor Plans.   Existing and proposed floor plans must be submitted for an application involving new development and/or where existing buildings are altered by the proposed development. If you are planning to demolish walls or buildings these should be shown on the plans. Floor plans must be submitted at the acceptable metric scale of 1:50 or 1:100 and indicate a north point.  Existing and proposed floor plans must match relevant elevations. 
• Roof Plans.  Existing and proposed roof plans should be provided for proposals involving the creation, alteration or replacement roof design. Roof plans must be provided at the acceptable metric scale of 1:50 or 1:100   An example of best practice:  existing and proposed.
• Correct fee: see our Planning Fees page

READ: 10 tips to avoid your application being delayed  

How much does this cost and how do I pay? 

see our Planning Fees page.

How do I submit a Lawful Development Certificate application?   

We recommend that you submit using the Planning Portal. 

Apply via Planning Portal

Read the Planning Portal Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

If you require help, you can phone the Planning Portal on: 0333 323 4589, which is available from 9am until 5pm, or email support@planningportal.co.uk 

The benefits of using the Planning Portal are:  

• Your application will be sent to Newcastle City Council on the same day 
• You will receive instant email notification on receipt of electronic applications 
• It speeds up the process 
• You can pay online through a secure website 
• It's paperless
• There's online guidance to help you make your application 
• There are useful tools to help you, like volume and fee calculators 
• There's a mapping service, so you can create a site location plan 

The information provided on the application form, drawings and documents will be available on the internet. Please read our Privacy Notice which sets out how we use information.

Other Ways To Apply and Pay

We encourage you to submit your application online through the Planning Portal  to help speed up the process.  

There are alternative ways to fill in application forms here.

pay online or by phone here if not paying on the Planning Portal   

What happens next?  

When you submit your application for a Household Lawful Development Certificate via the Planning Portal you will receive an email notification that this has been received. 

Work will then begin on checking that your application and the information you have submitted meets the national and local requirements.

If your application does not contain all the necessary information you will receive a letter outlining what is required to be submitted. You will have 28 calendar days to provide the necessary information.

Your application will not be progressed until all information has been submitted and it has been confirmed it meets all the requirements. If you do not provide this information within the time period, your application fee will be refunded and you will be required to submit a new application. It is your responsibility to provide this information.

If your application meets the requirements, we will send you a letter confirming this. 

Consultation will then take place, and your application will be passed to a Case Officer. They will assess whether or not planning permission should be granted.  The details of the Case Officer can be found in the acknowledgement letter you receive, if you wish to contact them directly.

We aim to determine the application within 8 weeks.

Further information on the planning process can be found here.    

If your application is refused 

If an application is refused, you have a right of appeal through the Planning Inspectorate. However we would recommend that you contact us prior to lodging your appeal. Some problems can be solved through minor changes to proposals.

Appeals are lodged with the Planning Inspectorate and not with Newcastle City Council. You can submit your appeal online (external link). Appeals are considered by a Planning Inspector and most are conducted through writing.

Find out more information on planning appeals.