What Are Planning Conditions?
Planning conditions are requirements attached to a planning permission that must be complied with before, during, or after the development. They are imposed by the planning authority to make acceptable a development that might otherwise be refused.
All planning permissions contain conditions. Even "unconditional" permissions contain standard conditions such as a time limit for commencement.
Types of Conditions
Pre-Commencement Conditions
These must be discharged before any construction work can begin. The planning permission does not take effect until these conditions are satisfied — starting work before they are discharged is a breach of planning control.
Common pre-commencement conditions include:
- Details of materials to be approved (brick samples, render specification)
- Ecological surveys to be submitted (bat surveys, breeding bird surveys)
- Details of sustainable drainage to be submitted and approved
- Archaeology investigation (where the site is in a sensitive area)
Pre-Occupancy Conditions
These must be satisfied before the development can be occupied (or used). Common examples:
- Completion of sustainable drainage measures
- Installation of cycle parking
- Provision of electric vehicle charging points
- Submission of an Energy Statement or SAP calculation
Compliance Conditions (During Works)
Some conditions require works to be carried out in accordance with specific approved documents, methods, or details. These are ongoing requirements rather than specific discharge points.
Informatives
Informatives are not conditions — they are advisory notes that do not require formal discharge but draw the applicant's attention to other legal requirements (for example, Building Regulations, party wall requirements, or the need for separate listed building consent).
Discharging Conditions
To formally discharge a pre-commencement or pre-occupancy condition, you must submit an Application to Discharge Planning Conditions to the local planning authority. This requires:
- The application form
- The planning application reference number
- The specific condition number(s) to be discharged
- Supporting information (for example, material samples, drainage calculations, ecological reports)
- The application fee (currently £43 per condition for householder applications; £128 for non-householder applications in England, from 2024)
The LPA has 8 weeks to determine the discharge application (or longer by agreement).
Important: Do not start work before receiving written confirmation that pre-commencement conditions have been discharged. The LPA's confirmation (typically a formal decision notice or a letter) is the relevant document.
What If You Ignore a Condition?
Breaching a planning condition is a breach of planning control. The LPA has powers to:
- Issue an Enforcement Notice requiring remediation
- Seek an Injunction in the courts in serious cases
In practice, LPAs focus enforcement on significant breaches. Minor condition breaches (for example, a failure to submit a material sample) may not result in enforcement action — but they create a legal exposure that affects the property's sale and mortgage prospects.
Condition Compliance Certificates at Completion
At the end of a project, it is worth obtaining a written confirmation from the LPA that all conditions have been complied with. This is not always easy to obtain — but having documentation of condition compliance is valuable when selling the property.
Conditions and Building Regulations
Planning conditions and Building Regulations are separate systems. A condition requiring a specific insulation thickness must be complied with through the planning condition process (condition discharge application) and may also be required under Building Regulations — but the two are addressed separately.
RCB Design & Build
RCB tracks planning conditions from the grant of permission through to completion, submitting discharge applications for pre-commencement conditions before any construction commences and ensuring compliance conditions are met and documented throughout the project.