What is a Lawful Development Certificate?
A. There are two types of Lawful Development Certificate (LDC): one for existing use or development and one for proposed use or development, the latter normally being the more important for householders. Its full ‘name’ is a “Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development” (CLOPUD). A CLOPUD is conclusive as to the lawfulness of the matters to which it relates. These days, most agents advise householders to obtain a CLOPUD type LDC before embarking on a major project in order to be certain that the project is safe and immune from council enforcement action. LDC’s are issued (or refused) on application to your local council on payment of a fee of half the normal planning application fee (i.e. half of £150 = £75). Well worth the money these days. Read more about them in our article on the subject here.
