Planning enforcement in London: how it works and what to do
Planning enforcement is a council's power to act on building work or a change of use done without permission, or in breach of a condition. It usually starts with a letter and ends with a retrospective application, a certificate or a notice. For building work substantially completed since 25 April 2024, the council generally has ten years to act.
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How a case starts and what the council can ask
Most cases begin with a complaint, often from a neighbour, and a visit or a letter from the planning enforcement team. The council then decides whether the matter is serious enough to pursue. Enforcement is discretionary, so not every complaint leads to a notice.
If it wants facts, it can serve a planning contravention notice. Government guidance says that failing to complete or return the notice within 21 days is an offence (GOV.UK, Ensuring effective enforcement). Answer it, and answer it accurately.
The time limit for building work
Since 25 April 2024, section 171B(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows no enforcement action after ten years beginning with the date on which the operations were substantially completed (legislation.gov.uk). That is the figure behind the common talk of a 'ten-year rule'. Work substantially completed before that date may still fall under the earlier rule, so the completion date decides which period applies.
The limit counts from substantial completion, not from the start of work, and evidence of the date matters. Our Lawful Development Certificate guide explains how to prove it. For existing works, the council fee for a certificate is the same as a full application, which for householder works is £548 by our reading of the fee table.
A retrospective application is decided like any other, and for a non-major application the council has 8 weeks from the day after it receives it (Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34).
Notices with deadlines
An enforcement notice sets out the breach and what must be done. It is served not less than 28 days before the date on which it takes effect (section 172(3)(b)), and that gap is the window to act, whether by appealing, applying or complying.
A temporary stop notice, which halts activity quickly, expires 56 days after display under current guidance. Neither is a reason to panic, but both are reasons to read the letter the day it arrives and get advice.
Putting a breach right
One route is to ask the council to approve what has been built. A retrospective application is decided like any other, and for a non-major application the council has 8 weeks from the day after it receives it (Development Management Procedure Order 2015, article 34). Our retrospective planning permission guide covers the process, and our guide to building without planning permission covers the consequences.
If the council refuses a householder application, you can normally appeal for up to 12 weeks from the date on the decision letter. If you received a recent enforcement notice before the application was refused, the deadline can be as short as 28 days (GOV.UK). The planning appeal guide and the glossary entry explain the steps. The drawings for a retrospective application must show the building as it stands, so they start with a measured survey.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| ten years | Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s171B(1)(a) (England, as substituted from 25 April 2024): no enforcement action after ten years beginning with the date operations were substantially completed (source wording: "ten years beginning with the date on which the operations were substantially completed") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 28 days | Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s172(3)(b): an enforcement notice is served not less than 28 days before the date on which it takes effect (source wording: "not less than twenty-eight days before the date specified in it") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £548 | Fees for planning applications in England from 1 April 2026 (MHCLG, SI 2012/2920 as annually indexed): certificate of lawful development for an existing use or operation costs the same as the full application fee; for householder works that is the category 6(1) fee of £548 (source wording: "Same as Full Application fee"; applying it to category 6(1) is our reading) | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| 12 weeks | GOV.UK, Appeal a householder planning decision: you can appeal up to 12 weeks from the date on the decision letter (source wording: "you can appeal for up to 12 weeks from the date on the decision letter") | www.gov.uk |
| 8 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): decision period for an application that is not major development (source wording: "8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following that on which the application is received") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 28 days | GOV.UK, Appeal a householder planning decision: if an enforcement notice was received before the application was refused, the appeal deadline is 28 days (source wording: "you have 28 days from the date on your decision letter to appeal") | www.gov.uk |
| 56 | Temporary stop notice expires 56 days after display (gov.uk enforcement guidance para 039; 28 days before 25 April 2024) (source wording: 56 days) | www.gov.uk |
| 21 | Planning contravention notice: failure to complete or return within 21 days is an offence (gov.uk enforcement guidance para 016; s171C itself sets no period) (source wording: 21 days) | www.gov.uk |