Flats and maisonettes

Planning Permission

You may be able to convert space over a shop (and certain space over premises with a display window), or over a ground floor office, into up to two flats.

This depends on meeting the conditions for ‘permitted development’ rights that allow this change of use detailed below including, from 1 August 2021, the need to make a Prior Approval application.

• The space is not in a separate planning unit from the shop, and is currently in a Commercial, Business and Service use (Use Class E) or in use as a Betting office or Pay day loan shop. Find out more about Use Classes and Changes of use¹.
• You will not change the outside appearance of the building.
• Part of the building would retain its existing use, and any flats would only be on floor(s) above the existing use.
• If there is a ground floor display window, the ground floor would not be used as a flat.
• Each flat would have a gross internal floor area of at least 37 square metres, comply with the nationally described space standard² and only be used as a dwelling:
  • by a single person or by people living together as a family, or
  • by not more than 6 residents living together as a single household (including a household where care is provided for residents).

Building Regulations

The regulations define this as a 'material change of use' and specify the requirements with which, as a result of that change of use, the whole or part of the building must comply (e.g. those concerned with escape and other fire precautions, hygiene, sound insulation, and energy conservation).

The whole, or at least part, of the building may therefore need to be up-graded to make it comply with the specified requirements.

1. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/9/change_of_use
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-housing-standards-nationally-described-space-standard