Retrospective planning applications in the City of London

Almost no houses, almost no householder cases

Only 2 per cent of City households live in a house, and the resident population is 15,631 across 4,914 households. In its latest year the council decided just 1 householder application, so there is no local record of how such cases are handled.

Residential alterations here are full applications for flats, and the council decided 173 minor applications in the same year, granting 97.1 per cent. That is a figure for small applications of every kind, mostly commercial, and it should not be read as a sign for or against a residential retrospective case.

The council also counted 16 certificates of lawfulness in the government return, which shows that owners do use that route for proof of lawful use or works.

Listed flats and consent that is not planning

The City has 86 Grade I and 82 Grade II* entries among its 637 listed buildings, and 28 conservation areas cover a large part of its territory. Altering a listed building without listed building consent is an offence, separate from planning permission. We tell you at the first call if consent is needed and who should prepare it.

Planning permission for work in a listed flat does not replace consent. If you have bought a flat where earlier owners altered it, we recommend an early check of the council's record before any money changes hands. We can draw the as-built condition for either application.

Leases, freeholders and ownership

About 36.5 per cent of households own their home, so leases matter. Where the flat is held on a long lease, alterations normally need the freeholder's permission as landlord regardless of planning. That is a second relationship to manage, and an application is smoother when the landlord position is already settled.

Where a managing agent or residents' association also holds approval rights, we ask for their written position as well. Some of that paperwork is more than a formality, because a flat sold with an unresolved alteration is hard to mortgage.

A conveyancer will want both sets of paperwork when you sell. If the lease permitted the change but planning permission was never sought, a retrospective application is the right fix. If the lease did not permit it, that has to be resolved first.

Route, fee and what we draw

Where the work is more than 10 years old, a lawful development certificate in the City of London can prove lawfulness instead. Otherwise the application is judged on its merits within 8 weeks, and a householder fee of £548 applies only where the property qualifies as a dwellinghouse.

We provide the survey, as-built plans, a heritage-aware design statement and the submission, checked by a second MCIAT chartered architectural technologist. For policy support see planning consultant in the City of London, and the City of London hub for our other services in the Square Mile.

Send us the address, your lease and the dates of the work. If the flat is on a listed estate, include the managing agent's name and any earlier consents, and we will confirm which approvals are needed and a fixed quote after a free check.