Use Class C1 – Hotels

Use Class C1 of the Use Classes Order 1987 (as amended) is for the use as hotels.

The full description is use as a hotel or as a boarding or guest house where, in each case, no significant element of care is provided. This does not include hostels which are sui generis.

This could include Bed & Breakfast establishments (B&B). Also included in Use Class C1 would be aparthotels – see this page for more on aparthotels.

Does a Class C1 hotel have to provide food?

No single feature decides whether accommodation is a hotel, boarding house or guest house. Food service can be relevant evidence, but it is not an essential requirement of Class C1.

In APP/G5750/C/15/3005653, the Inspector found that premises had the character of a hotel despite having no dining room or meal service. The short-stay accommodation, individual bedrooms, related services, appearance, management and advertising were considered together.

The classification is therefore a matter of fact and degree. Relevant factors can include the transient character of occupation, booking and management arrangements, reception or servicing, cleaning, length and pattern of stays, the degree of guest control over the accommodation and how the premises operate as a whole.

There is no statutory minimum number of bedrooms for Class C1. Equally, one or two lettable rooms do not automatically make a property a hotel. A small bed and breakfast may be C1, while limited guest accommodation within an occupied home may remain ancillary to the dwellinghouse. Aparthotels and serviced accommodation require the same overall fact-and-degree assessment; the Use Class Directory is a starting point rather than a substitute for checking the actual operation.

A qualifying agricultural building may move to a flexible C1 hotel use through Class R, subject to its limitations, conditions and any required prior approval. Class R does not remove the need for the resulting operation genuinely to have the character of the specified use.

Permitted Development Changes for Use Class C1

There are two important permitted development routes involving C1. Class R can allow an agricultural building to change to a flexible C1 hotel use, subject to its limitations, conditions and prior approval. Class T can allow a C1 building to change to a state-funded school or registered nursery, subject to its own limitations and conditions.

Government consulted in 2023 on further permitted development changes affecting hotels, but there is currently no general C1-to-C3 permitted development right in force. The earlier proposal is discussed here.

If you require assistance with planning permission please either request a free fee proposal, or book a Zoom call with Ian, the founder of Planning Geek. Our team of planning consultants are here to help.

Examples for Use Class C1

Class C1 can include hotels, boarding houses, guest houses, many bed and breakfast establishments and some aparthotels. Serviced accommodation and short-term letting do not acquire a class merely because a council prefers a particular label. Depending on how the premises operate, the use may remain C3, fall within C1 or be sui generis.

The Government has proposed an English Class C5 for short-term lets, but it is not in force as at 24th August 2026.

Use Class C1 Page Updated: 24th August 2026

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