Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

Certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development

170.—(1) If any person wishes to ascertain whether—

(a) any proposed use of buildings or other land; or

(b) any operations proposed to be carried out in, on, over or under land,

would be lawful, that person may make an application for the purpose to the appropriate council specifying the land and describing the use or operations in question.

(2) If, on an application under this section, the council is provided with information satisfying it that the use or operations described in the application would be lawful if instituted or begun at the time of the application, it must issue a certificate to that effect; and in any other case it shall refuse the application.

(3) A certificate under this section must—

(a) specify the land to which it relates;

(b) describe the use or operations in question (in the case of any use falling within one of the classes specified in an order under section 23(3)(e), identifying it by reference to that class);

(c) give the reasons for determining the use or operations to be lawful; and

(d) specify the date of the application for the certificate.

(4) The lawfulness of any use or operations for which a certificate is in force under this section shall be conclusively presumed unless there is a material change, before the use is instituted or the operations are begun, in any of the matters relevant to determining such lawfulness.