Article 4 Direction
Restricted permitted development rights
An Article 4 Direction removes specific permitted development rights across a defined area. Changes that would normally need no planning permission then require a full application. The local planning authority makes the direction and decides which rights it withdraws. Every UK nation has its own permitted development rules, so what a direction removes varies.
What This Means
Some of the rights you would normally have to alter this property without permission have been removed. The direction is already in force, so those rights were gone before you arrived. The direction touches works and use, not occupation, so living here is unaffected. When you want to re-roof, extend or change the use, you apply for full planning permission instead. Recent unauthorised works can be enforced against you as the owner, though enforcement powers lapse with age. You cannot be prosecuted for what a previous owner did, but you can be made to undo it. This does not normally affect mortgage approval, buildings insurance or resale.
Practical Advice
- Ask the local planning authority exactly which permitted development rights the direction removes and the date it took effect.
- Ask your conveyancer to check that recent alterations to this property had planning permission.
- Confirm with the authority whether your specific plans, such as an extension or new windows, now need a full application.
- Ask your conveyancer to obtain a lawful development certificate for any alteration the searches cannot evidence.
Key Points
- Replacing timber sash windows with uPVC needs a full planning application on a street under a direction; the same swap on the next street needs none.
- A direction that removes the right to convert a family home into a small house in multiple occupation stops a landlord's plan, not an owner-occupier's.
Additional Information
Article 4 is a provision of each nation's General Permitted Development Order. In Scotland a direction must also be approved by Scottish Ministers. The linked government guidance describes the English rules only.