But there is another route. This is to apply for a Certificate of Lawful Use (CLU) in the case of where a building’s use has changed without permission, or to apply for a Certificate of Lawful Development (CLD) where the building itself was constructed without permission. But note: these are forms not of planning permission but really of amnesty. Once granted, the CLU or CLD is a complete defence to an enforcement notice. The Certificate acts like a magic wand. It allows an existing, but unlawful, use of the land or a development on the land, to become overnight lawful.
Certificate of Lawful Use: CLU
In the case of a CLU, the certificate is granted once the landowner/occupier has demonstrated that more than ten years have elapsed since the LPA first had the opportunity to serve an enforcement notice on the land user. A CLU will be granted if the applicant can demonstrate that the new use – the existing use – has been the case for at least 10 years.
Certificate of Law Development: CLD
In the case of a Certificate of Lawful Development, one must satisfy a second hurdle: that 10 years have passed since the development began (i.e. spade in the ground), and that 4 years have passed since the building was finished.
The merits of the development are irrelevant: there is no enquiry into whether the building is useful or desirable. The LPA may hate the building and the applicant, but if the tests are satisfied, the application must be granted.
The purpose of these two rules is to stop someone from beginning a building by doing very little (so as not to invite any enquiry), allow ten years to pass, and then rapidly complete the building and declare that 10 years have now elapsed since the LPA first had an opportunity to serve a notice.
