GPDO

General Permitted Development Order

Article 4s Blocked HMOs Legislation Compensation Incoming Article 4? Buy an HMO!

Article 4 Compensation – when can you claim?

Compensation? When a local authority brings in an Article 4, you may be entitled to compensation. This is not widely publicised for obvious reasons!

However in certain circumstances, there may be a right for you to claim. This might impact commercial or residential owners who are impacted by a new Article 4.

Importantly you can’t claim compensation if the local authority has given at least 12 months and less than 24 months notice of the Article 4 coming into effect. These are called non-immediate Article 4 Directions.

However where a local authority (LPA) introduces an immediate Article 4 direction, or gives less than 12 months notice, you might be able to claim compensation. You are encouraged to read the full page here and refer to any legislation. This applies to many PD rights which could be blocked. Fenland, parts of Ealing (Perivale), and now Bolton are subject to compensation claims for Article 4s preventing HMOs.

Compensation – what are the facts to claim?

A claim can be made on an application submitted within 12 months of the immediate Article 4 coming into effect. For HMOs, you can see this date here. For other dates, please check with the local authority. Their details can be found here.

This date is defined in Section 108(2) of TCPA 1990 which explicitly states

“…this section applies only if the application referred to in subsection (1)(b) is made before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date on which the revocation or amendment came into operation.”

This means that the planning application (not the compensation claim itself) must be submitted within one year of the Direction taking effect.

So take London Borough of Ealing as an example. They announced two Article 4s. 

An immediate one which came into effect on 30th October 2024 and a non-immediate Article 4 to come into effect in November 2025.

There is no option to claim against the non-immediate Article 4 as enough notice has been given. However the immediate one in the Perivale area could be subject to claims on applications submitted until 29th October 2025. You then have time to make a claim.

In the case in Perivale a claim may arise if a planning application is refused, which would otherwise be granted as permitted development under Class L of Part 3 of the GPDO or planning permission is granted and is subject to more restrictive conditions that would have otherwise been the case under permitted development (Class L of Part 3 in this case). The same would apply to any other area removing Class L rights for HMOs with immediate effect (or other PD rights). 

Importantly you must make a planning application, within 12 months of the immediate Article 4 coming into effect.

A claim for compensation must be made in writing to the local authority and must be served within 12 months of the refusal or restricted approval. Any person having an interest in the land or property, whether that is a freeholder or leaseholder can claim compensation. 

The claim can include:

• abortive expenditure – this could be preparatory work carried out to the property with exercising the permitted development right in mind, and professional fees, plans, reports etc.
• other loss or damage directly attributable to the withdrawal of the permitted right – this can include the difference in the value of the land, e.g. if the development had been carried out under the permitted development right and this resulted in an uplift in the land value
• a reduction in profit in carrying out the smaller development – for example running the property as a single let as opposed to an HMO
• the cost in complying with conditions. Maybe providing bike stores, where these would not be required under permitted development for example

Compensation cannot be calculated or claimed until after the planning authority’s decision (which might come many weeks or months after submitting your application).

While the legislation requires the planning application to be submitted within 12 months, the compensation claim itself logically follows the outcome of the planning application, which is refused or granted subject to stricter conditions.

The practical interpretation used by planning authorities, and reflected in guidance, is that you have 12 months from the decision date of the relevant planning application (the date you know your loss has crystallised) to formally lodge a compensation claim. Although there is no actual date in legislation.

All expenses to be claimed must be evidenced. 

These compensation claims can apply to many types of both residential and commercial development   – see below.

Appeals

If your claim for compensation is refused or disputed by the local planning authority, you may appeal this decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). This tribunal specialises in land valuation and compensation disputes and will consider the validity and amount of compensation. Judicial Review in the High Court is typically used to challenge procedural or legal errors rather than compensation amounts. The claimant would need to show a loss made as a direct result of the Article 4.

Which permitted development rights are subject to compensation?

The following Classes are deemed as prescribed development as far as legislation is concerned (see legislation section below as well)

(a) Part 1 (development within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse);
(b) Classes D, E and G of Part 2 (certain minor operations);
(c) Classes A, AA, C, D, G, J, I, K, JA, L, M, MA, N, O, P, PA, Q, R, S, T and U of Part 3 (certain changes of use);
(d) Classes B, BB, BC, C, CA, D and E of Part 4 (temporary uses);
(da) Classes A and B of Part 6 (agricultural and forestry);
(e) Classes A to H, L, M, MA and N of Part 7 (non-domestic extensions, alterations etc);
(ea) Class B of Part 11 in so far as it relates to a development mentioned in paragraph B.1(d) (demolition of concert halls, venues for live music performance and theatres);
(eb) Class BA of Part 12 (holding of a market by or on behalf of a local authority);
(f) Part 14 (installation of renewable energy equipment);
(g) Class A of Part 16 (development by electronic communications code operators) to the extent that paragraph A.2(5) of Class A disapplies certain conditions in paragraph A.3 of Class A.;
(ga) Class TA of Part 19 (development by the Crown on a closed defence site); and (h) Part 20 (construction of new dwellinghouses); and
(h) Part 20 (construction of new dwellinghouses).

It also applies to permission in principle applications as well which may be blocked via legislation.

Summary of process

To claim compensation for losses arising from an immediate Article 4 Direction:

1. You must submit a planning application (previously permitted development) within 12 months from the date the Article 4 Direction took effect
2. Compensation only becomes due if your planning application is either refused or granted subject to more stringent conditions
3. Once a decision has been issued on your planning application, you then have 12 months from the date of that decision to formally lodge a compensation claim with the local authority

Legislation

This is defined in Section 107 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and Section 108 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and finally the Town and Country Planning (Compensation) (England) Regulations 2015

The links above go to the current legislation, however we have created a PDF of Section 107 and Section 108 as of the latest update which might be easier to read. Please note that the Compensation Regulations file is (at the time of writing) out of date on the Government site!  However this mostly relates to the various Classes for which you can claim compensation. We have listed the latest ones above.

Section 107(1) of TCPA 1990 states compensation is payable when:

“planning permission… is revoked or modified… then if, on a claim made to the local planning authority within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner…”

This section refers explicitly to the claim for compensation itself, but the Act does not specify the exact timeframe explicitly here.

This date is defined in Section 108(2) of TCPA 1990 which explicitly states

“…this section applies only if the application referred to in subsection (1)(b) is made before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date on which the revocation or amendment came into operation.”

Critically, this confirms that the application must be made within 12 months, but it doesn’t state explicitly the timeframe for the compensation claim following the decision.

Note that the information on this page is our interpretation of the legislation and is subject to errors. You will need to apply in accordance with the legislation above. Legislation is also updated from time to time, so please ensure that you are reading the latest version.

Always check to ensure that our understanding of the legislation is correct. Planning Geek can’t be held responsible for any typos or mistakes. But we are confident of the information published! If we have made an error, please let us know. 

Article 4 compensation – Page updated 11th June 2025