Planning and Compensation Act 1991

42 Certificate of lawful use or development. S

(1) For section 90 of, and Schedule 12 to, the 1972 Act (certification of established use) there is substituted—

“ Certificate of lawful use or development S

90 Certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development.

(1) If any person wishes to ascertain whether—

(a) any existing use of buildings or other land is lawful;

(b) any operations which have been carried out in, on, over or under land are lawful; or

(c) any other matter constituting a failure to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted is lawful,

he may make an application for the purpose to the planning authority specifying the land and describing the use, operations or other matter.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, uses and operations are lawful at any time if—

(a) no enforcement action may then be taken in respect of them (whether because they did not involve development or require planning permission or because the time for enforcement action has expired or for any other reason); and

(b) they do not constitute a contravention of any of the requirements of any enforcement notice then in force.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, any matter constituting a failure to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted is lawful at any time if—

(a) the time for taking enforcement action in respect of the failure has then expired; and

(b) it does not constitute a contravention of any of the requirements of any enforcement notice or breach of condition notice then in force.

(4) If, on an application under this section, the planning authority are provided with information satisfying them of the lawfulness at the time of the application of the use, operations or other matter described in the application, or that description as modified by the planning authority or a description substituted by them, they shall issue a certificate to that effect; and in any other case they shall refuse the application.

(5) A certificate under this section shall—

(a) specify the land to which it relates;

(b) describe the use, operations or other matter in question (in the case of any use falling within one of the classes specified in an order under section 19(2)(f) of this Act, identifying it by reference to that class);

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

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

(6) The lawfulness of any use, operations or other matter for which a certificate is in force under this section shall be conclusively presumed.

(7) A certificate under this section in respect of any use shall also have effect, for the purposes of the following enactments, as if it were a grant of planning permission—

(a) section 3(3) of the M1 Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960;

(b) section 5(2) of the M2 Control of Pollution Act 1974; and

(c) section 36(2)(a) of the M3 Environmental Protection Act 1990.

90A Certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development.

(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, he may make an application for the purpose to the planning authority specifying the land and describing the use or operations in question.

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

(3) A certificate under this section shall—

(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 19(2)(f) of this Act, 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) There shall be an irrefutable presumption as to the lawfulness of any use or operations for which a certificate is in force under this section 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.

90B Certificates under sections 90 and 90A: supplementary provisions.

(1) An application for a certificate under section 90 or 90A of this Act shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under this Act or a development order and shall include such particulars, and be verified by such evidence, as may be required by such regulations or such an order or by any directions given under such regulations or such an order or by the planning authority.

(2) Provision may be made by such regulations or a development order for regulating the manner in which applications for certificates under those sections are to be dealt with by planning authorities.

(3) In particular, such regulations or such an order may provide for requiring the authority—

(a) to give to any applicant within such time as may be prescribed by the regulations or the order such notice as may be so prescribed as to the manner in which his application has been dealt with; and

(b) to give to the Secretary of State and to such other persons as may be prescribed by or under the regulations or the order, such information as may be so prescribed with respect to such applications made to the authority, including information as to the manner in which any application has been dealt with.

(4) A certificate under either of those sections may be issued—

(a) for the whole or part of the land specified in the application; and

(b) where the application specifies two or more uses, operations or other things, for all of them or some one or more of them,

and shall be in such form as may be prescribed by such regulations or a development order.

(5) A certificate under section 90 or 90A shall not affect any matter constituting a failure to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted unless that matter is described in the certificate.

(6) In section 31 of this Act references to applications for planning permission shall include references to applications for certificates under section 90 or 90A of this Act.

(7) A planning authority may revoke a certificate under either of those sections if, on the application for the certificate—

(a) a statement was made or document used which was false in a material particular; or

(b) any material information was withheld.

(8) Provision may be made by such regulations or a development order for regulating the manner in which certificates may be revoked and the notice to be given of such revocation.

90C Offences.

(1) If any person, for the purpose of procuring a particular decision on an application (whether by himself or another) for the issue of a certificate under section 90 or 90A of this Act—

(a) knowingly or recklessly makes a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular;

(b) with intent to deceive, uses any document which is false or misleading in a material particular; or

(c) with intent to deceive, withholds any material information,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) of this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both.”

(2) An order under section 84(2) of this Act may provide for established use certificates to have effect, in such circumstances and to such extent as may be specified in the order, for the purposes of section 90 of the 1972 Act as substituted by this section.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 42 wholly in force; s. 42 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 84(2); s. 42 in force for certain purposes at 10.8.1992 by S.I. 1992/1937, art. 3 and in force at 25.9.1992 insofar as not already in force by S.I. 1992/1937, art. 4 (subject to art.5 of that S.I.).

Marginal Citations

M1 1960 c. 62.

M2 1974 c. 40.

M3 1990 c. 43.