How can a Certificate of Lawfulness help me?
A Certificate of Lawfulness legally and formally establishes that something is lawful, even if previously it was thought to be otherwise for an EXISTING use or development of a property (or a ‘CLEUD’) or for a PROPOSED use or development of a property (or a ‘CLOPUD’).
A Certificate of Lawfulness brings several important benefits:
• Can vastly boost the value of a property, whether a house or business.
• Relates to a particular property, no matter who owns it.
• Once obtained the Council cannot change their mind as the Certificate of Lawfulness has a statutory authority which they cannot go back on. Therefore it is far better than the usual ‘informal officer opinion’ advice, where another planning officer may later say something different.
• The Council must by law issue the Certificate if the relevant evidence has been provided and the circumstances mean that the use/development is lawful.
• It is irrelevant that the Council or any neighbours may not like the application.
• After a Certificate of Lawfulness has been issued, the Council cannot take enforcement action on the matter.
• Applications can be made for property which is not yet in your ownership.
