Use Classes Index

Use Classes help describe how land and buildings are used, but identifying the right class is only the start. These guides explain the current classes, changes of use, mixed and sui generis uses, and the historic changes that can still matter when researching lawful use. If you are trying to identify a particular activity or building use, the separate Use Classes Directory contains examples of more than 350 uses.

Start here

• Use Classes home
• Which Use Class is my building?
• Directory of more than 350 building uses
• Use Class changes in 2020/21

Current Use Classes in England

• Class B overview
• Class B2 – General Industrial
• Class B8 – Storage and Distribution
• Class C overview
• Class C1 – Hotels
• Class C2 – Residential Institutions
• Class C2A – Secure Residential Institutions
• Class C3 – Dwellinghouses
• Class C4 – Houses in Multiple Occupation
• Proposed Class C5 – Short-Term Lets in England
• Class E – Commercial, Business and Service
• Class F1 – Learning and Non-Residential Institutions
• Class F2 – Local Community Uses
• Sui Generis – Uses Outside a Defined Use Class

Former classes and the 2020 changes

• Former Use Class A
• Former Use Class D
• What changed in 2020/21

History of the Use Classes Order

• Use Classes Order timeline
• Use Classes Order 1948
• Use Classes Order 1950
• Use Classes Order 1963
• Use Classes Order 1972
• Use Classes Order 1987
• Use Classes Amendment Regulations 2020

Explore the Use Classes section

Use Classes Home · Use Classes Index · Use Classes Directory

Use Classes Index Page Updated: 24th August 2026