Responding to planning enforcement

The LPA has several enforcement powers. The notice type determines how urgently you must act and what options are available to you.

If you have received a Temporary Stop Notice or Stop Notice: stop the specified activity immediately. Continuing after a stop notice takes effect is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine.

Before responding to the LPA, establish your planning position. The LPA may be wrong, or you may have a stronger position than you realise.

Review the following:

• Original planning permission: Do you have a permission that covers the activity? Check any conditions attached to it.
• Permitted development rights: Does the activity fall within permitted development? Rights vary by property type, location, and any Article 4 directions.
• The 10-year rule: Since 25 April 2024, all breaches of planning control in England become immune from enforcement after 10 years of continuous use or substantial completion (a Certificate of Lawful Use confirms lawfulness). Transitional point: building works substantially completed, or changes of use to a single dwelling, occurring before 25 April 2024 keep the old 4-year rule - so some older development may already be immune.
• Conditions: If you have a BCN, check exactly which condition is alleged to have been breached and whether the breach is accurate.

You generally have four options when faced with enforcement action. Some can be pursued in parallel, but they are not all freely combinable — in particular, a retrospective application can restrict your grounds of appeal (see Option 2).

Option 1: Negotiate with the LPA

Contact the enforcement officer named on the notice and explore whether a negotiated solution is possible. LPAs often prefer resolution over prosecution. You might agree to modify works, submit a retrospective application, or discharge conditions.

Negotiating does not pause your appeal deadline. If you plan to appeal as a backstop, submit the appeal before the deadline even if you are also in discussion with the LPA.

Option 2: Apply for retrospective planning permission

If planning permission was genuinely required and not obtained, you can apply retrospectively. The LPA must consider the retrospective application on its merits. If permission is granted, the enforcement notice becomes ineffective. Submission of a retrospective application does not automatically pause the enforcement notice.

Important interaction with appeals: if you have made a retrospective application and an enforcement notice is then issued, section 174(2A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 restricts you from appealing on the ground that planning permission ought to be granted. You cannot freely run both routes - take advice before choosing.

Option 3: Appeal the enforcement notice

You can appeal an Enforcement Notice to the Planning Inspectorate. You have 28 days from the date of service to submit your appeal. There are several grounds of appeal, including that planning permission should be granted, that no breach occurred, or that the notice requirements are excessive.

An appeal suspends the Enforcement Notice until the appeal is determined. Note that this does not apply to Stop Notices or Temporary Stop Notices — those remain in effect during an appeal.

Option 4: Comply with the notice

If the breach is clear, permission is unlikely to be granted retrospectively, and you have no strong grounds of appeal, complying by the deadline is the most pragmatic course. Compliance by the deadline prevents prosecution, even if you disagree with the notice.

Planning enforcement is a technical area. You should consider engaging professional help if:

• You are considering an appeal — appeals require well-prepared written statements and knowledge of planning policy
• The enforcement involves significant investment or business operations
• You believe the LPA has made an error in issuing the notice
• Criminal prosecution is threatened or under way
• You need to negotiate on conditions or retrospective consent

A planning consultant (find one through the Royal Town Planning Institute at rtpi.org.uk) can advise on the merits of appeal and prepare representations. A solicitor with planning law experience is advisable if prosecution is possible or if you need to take legal steps to challenge the notice.

Act quickly on professional advice. Most planning consultants and solicitors will need time to review the notice and advise before your appeal deadline. Contact them as soon as you receive the notice.

If you have grounds to challenge the enforcement notice, submit your appeal to the Planning Inspectorate before the 28-day deadline. Late appeals will not be accepted.

The grounds on which you can appeal an Enforcement Notice include:

• Planning permission ought to be granted for the development
• The alleged breach of planning control has not occurred
• The matters alleged do not constitute a breach of planning control
• The time for taking enforcement action has expired (the 10-year rule)
• The steps required by the notice are excessive
• The period for compliance is unreasonably short

If you are not appealing, or if your appeal has been dismissed, you must comply with all requirements of the notice by the compliance deadline specified in it.

Compliance typically means:

• Stopping the use of land or buildings as specified
• Demolishing or removing unauthorised works
• Restoring land or buildings to their previous condition
• Discharging planning conditions as required by a BCN

Keep documentary evidence that you have complied — photographs, contractor invoices, written confirmation from the LPA — in case of any future dispute.

Consequences of non-compliance: Failing to comply with an enforcement notice by the deadline is a criminal offence. The LPA can prosecute in the Magistrates' Court and the penalty is an unlimited fine. The LPA may also carry out the required works itself and recover the costs from you. There is no limit on how many times the LPA can prosecute for a continuing breach.