Why MCIAT chartered drawings beat one-off PD consultancy — and when you really do need just a Lawful Development Certificate.
A PD consultant tells you whether your project qualifies. We tell you that AND produce the drawings AND submit the LDC.
Why a one-off permitted development opinion is worth less than a lawful development certificate, and what a full drawing package adds.
A PD consultancy typically sells an opinion: an assessment of whether your proposed works fall inside Schedule 2, Part 1 of the GPDO 2015. That opinion is useful. It is also non-binding. It does not bind the council, it does not appear on a title search, and it does not protect you if a future purchaser's solicitor asks for evidence that the works were lawful.
A lawful development certificate under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is a formal determination by the council that the described works are lawful. It costs £274 — half a householder application — and it is a document, not an opinion. It is what a conveyancing solicitor asks for on sale, and it is the answer to an enforcement query.
Obtaining one requires drawings. The council determines the application on what is described, so the certificate only protects the works as drawn. This is why an opinion without a drawing package is an incomplete purchase: you have to produce the drawings anyway.
Single-storey rear extension: 3m beyond the original rear wall on a terrace or semi, 4m on a detached house; 6m and 8m respectively through the larger home extension prior approval route at £249, with a 21-day neighbour consultation and a six-week determination. Two-storey rear addition: 3m maximum depth and no closer than 7m to the rear boundary. Loft: 40m³ added volume on a terrace, 50m³ on a semi or detached, with a dormer set back at least 200mm from the eaves and no extension beyond the plane of the front roof slope.
Every one of those is disapplied where an Article 4 direction has withdrawn the right, and several are restricted in conservation areas. An opinion that has not checked the direction at the specific address is an opinion about a different house.
The opinion is included in that, not sold separately.
How alternative to a permitted-development consultant plays out in Merton: London Borough of Merton (Merton Council) maintains 28 conservation areas, the Wimbledon Village Conservation Area and the John Innes Conservation Area among them, and there is no borough-wide Article 4 direction, so permitted development generally survives outside conservation areas. Anyone dealing with alternative to a permitted-development consultant at a Merton address is therefore working to a £548 householder application decided in 8 weeks, or a £249 prior approval over 6 weeks where alternative to a permitted-development consultant still qualifies.
| PD opinion | Non-binding, no statutory status |
|---|---|
| Lawful development certificate | £274, s192 TCPA 1990, binding determination |
| Householder application | £548, decided in 8 weeks |
| Prior approval route | £249, 21-day consultation, 6 weeks |
| Single-storey rear limits | 3m terrace/semi, 4m detached (6m/8m prior approval) |
| Our Essentials package |
On any works you may later sell the house with, yes. It is a formal determination by the council under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which is what a conveyancing solicitor asks for. A consultant's written opinion has no statutory status.
It does not bind the council. If the works are later found to fall outside permitted development, the opinion offers no protection against enforcement — the certificate does.
The scheme goes in as a £548 householder application instead, decided within eight weeks. Because the survey and drawings already exist, that switch does not restart the work or the fee.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.
