Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Works

Not every job on a listed building needs listed building consent. It is needed only for works that would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The trouble is that the test is a matter of judgement, and getting it wrong is a criminal offence. A certificate of lawfulness of proposed works is the formal way to settle the question in advance: apply to the council, describe the works, and if they agree the works would not affect the building’s character, you get a certificate saying so.

 

 

 

What is a certificate of lawfulness of proposed works?

 

The certificate was created by section 61 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which inserted sections 26H to 26K into the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The provisions came into force on 6 April 2014. It borrows its shape from the lawful development certificate regime in the planning system, but it is not a copy of it, and the two ask different questions.

Section 26H(1) lets any person who wishes to ascertain whether proposed works for the alteration or extension of a listed building in England would be lawful apply to the local planning authority, specifying the building and describing the works. Section 26H(2) then defines lawful in a single sentence: works would be lawful if they would not affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest.

If the authority is satisfied the works would be lawful, it must issue the certificate. If it is not satisfied, it must refuse. A certificate can be issued for the whole or part of the building, and for all or part of the works described, so a partial certificate is possible where some of the schedule passes the test and some does not.

 

What the certificate does not cover

 

This is where it pays to be precise, because the courts have drawn the boundary tightly.

• it covers alteration or extension only, and there is no certificate route for demolition
• it applies to proposed works only, so you cannot apply after the works have been done
• it certifies one thing and one thing only: that the works would not affect the building’s character
• it does not grant, and does not remove the need for, listed building consent where consent is in fact required
• it has no effect on planning permission, building regulations or any other approval

The third point was tested in the Court of Appeal in Government of the Republic of France v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2017] EWCA Civ 429. The council had issued a certificate confirming that proposed works were lawful because they fell within a listed building consent that had already been implemented. The Court of Appeal quashed it, holding that section 26H(2) exhaustively defines what lawful means for these purposes. The certificate cannot be used to confirm that an existing consent has been implemented, or that works are authorised by it, only that the works would not affect the character of the building. The council had exceeded its powers.

The practical lesson is that a certificate answers one narrow question. If your real question is whether an old consent is still live, this is not the tool.

 

Proposed works only, and why

 

There is no retrospective version of this certificate. That was a deliberate policy choice: the government did not want to encourage owners to carry out works first and seek a determination afterwards that consent had not been needed.

So the certificate sits at the opposite end of the timeline from enforcement. If works have already been done and you are unsure whether they needed consent, this route is closed to you. The questions then become whether an offence has been committed and whether the authority will take enforcement action.

 

How to apply for a certificate of lawfulness of proposed works

 

Applications go to the local planning authority in writing, on the form published by the Secretary of State, under the Planning (Listed Buildings) (Certificates of Lawfulness of Proposed Works) Regulations 2014. The application must specify the listed building and describe the proposed works precisely, and be accompanied by the particulars the form requires.

Check the fee position with the authority before you apply. Listed building consent itself carries no fee, and the certificate is worth weighing against simply applying for consent, so see our guide to planning fees for what the wider application costs would be.

The burden sits with the applicant. There is no duty on the authority to go looking for reasons to grant. It is for you to provide the evidence and the justification that the works would not affect the building’s character. A clear schedule of works and a proper assessment of the building’s significance do the heavy lifting.

The legislation requires no consultation or publicity, which makes this a quieter process than a consent application. Authorities may nonetheless choose to consult Historic England or a conservation body, and many will.

A certificate that is granted will identify the building by reference to a plan or drawing, describe precisely which works are lawful, give the reasons, and carry the date of issue.

 

The ten-year rule

 

Works covered by a certificate are conclusively presumed to be lawful, which is a strong protection, but on two conditions. The works must be carried out within ten years beginning with the date of issue, and the certificate must not have been revoked.

“Conclusively presumed” is the phrase that matters. Within those limits, the question is settled and cannot be reopened.

 

Revocation and false information

 

An authority may revoke a certificate where the application involved a false statement or document in a material particular, or where material information was withheld. Before revoking, it must notify the owner, the occupier and anyone else it thinks is affected, and allow them a short period to make representations.

Providing false information is also a criminal offence in its own right. A person commits it who, for the purpose of procuring a particular decision on an application, knowingly or recklessly makes a materially false or misleading statement, uses a materially false or misleading document with intent to deceive, or withholds material information with intent to deceive.

 

Appeals

 

If the authority refuses the application, refuses it in part, or fails to decide it, you may appeal to the Secretary of State under section 26K. The Planning Inspectorate must receive the appeal within six months of the date of the decision notice. Where the authority has not decided at all, the six months runs from the expiry of the six week period it had to determine the application, beginning with the day after it received a valid application, or any longer period agreed in writing between you and the authority.

Six months is a longer window than a householder planning appeal allows, but note the contrast with the planning equivalent: an appeal against refusal of a certificate under section 192 has no deadline at all. Only the applicant can appeal. The written representations rules that changed on 1 April 2026 do not apply to these appeals either. Those rules sort most planning appeals into a Part 1 or a Part 2 procedure, but they only cover appeals made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This listed-building certificate appeal is made under section 26K of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, not section 195 of the Town and Country Planning Act. The Part 1 evidence restriction for section 78 planning appeals therefore does not apply.

The section 195 route differs from this one in another way that catches people out: it has no deadline at all, where this one has six months. Our guide to a lawful development certificate appeal explains where that gap comes from and why it is less generous than it sounds.

On appeal, the Secretary of State must grant the certificate, or modify one granted in part, if satisfied that the authority’s refusal was not well-founded, or, on a non-determination appeal, that a refusal would not have been well-founded. Otherwise the appeal is dismissed. Appeals dealt with by hearing or inquiry follow the enforcement appeal procedure rules rather than the ordinary planning ones.

 

Not the same as a lawful development certificate

 

The names invite confusion, but they are separate regimes:

• a lawful development certificate lives in the planning system, under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and answers whether something is lawful for planning purposes
• a certificate of lawfulness of proposed works lives in the listed building system, under the 1990 listed buildings Act, and answers only whether works would affect a listed building’s character

Getting one tells you nothing about the other. A scheme may well need a lawful development certificate, or planning permission, alongside this, and holding this certificate does not touch those requirements.

See also our guide to the types of planning application.

 

 

Relevant legislation

 

The certificate sits in the listed buildings Act, with the procedure in a 2014 statutory instrument. When checking any provision, use the “Changes to Legislation” panel on legislation.gov.uk, as later amendments are not always shown in the main text.

• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 26H: the certificate itself, the definition of “lawful” and the ten-year rule
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 26I: applications, the form of the certificate and revocation
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 26J: the offence of making a false or misleading statement to obtain a certificate
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 26K: the right of appeal to the Secretary of State
• Planning (Listed Buildings) (Certificates of Lawfulness of Proposed Works) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/552): the application and appeal procedure
• Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, section 61: the section that inserted the certificate into the 1990 Act

Other Planning Application Sections

 

 

 

Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Works Page Updated: 21st August 2026