What is Converted Housing or Permitted Development?

Permitted Development (PD) is a policy that allows for the modification, extension or conversion of a building without requiring a planning application to do the work. It has been possible to undertake certain types of PD conversion since the formal planning system was established in 1948.  

In 2013, PD rights were expanded enabling individual houses to be further extended without requiring planning permission and for the larger-scale conversion of offices and industrial buildings into residential use. The changes were introduced to expand the scope of the policy in an attempt to cut perceived ‘red tape’ in the English planning limiting to construction of new homes. 

Further changes were introduced in 2021, to require minimum space provisions for homes, access to natural light (but not necessarily windows). Also the PD scope was further expanded to include a wider group of buildings that could be converted, so called ‘class E buildings’ which includes shops and other high street buildings.