It can happen to anyone – you build an extension or a new home and you get a knock on the door from a planning enforcement officer at your local council who suggests you might not have built it in accordance with the planning rules. Planning enforcement is very stressful. It is not just dodgy developers who are targeted – there are all sorts of reasons why people who try to follow all the rules and do everything by the book might also fall foul of enforcement. In this blog, learn how to handle a planning enforcement investigation in the UK. Understand your rights, typical procedures, and how to respond effectively to avoid penalties or enforcement action.
How you handle an investigation can determine its outcome. It is important to co-operate with your enforcement officer rather than bury your head in the sand. I strongly recommend that you obtain professional advice from a planning consultant (ideally a chartered town planner.
I represent hundreds of clients each year facing enforcement troubles and in this article I explain how best to deal with an enforcement investigation.
What Triggers an Investigation?
Contrary to popular belief, local council planning enforcement teams don’t go out patrolling the streets, looking for breaches of planning control. They don’t come to inspect your development after completion to ensure it complies with your planning permission. Instead, enforcement investigations are almost always trigger by a complaint from a member of the public, most commonly a neighbour.
All sorts of things are built without planning permission, or not quite in accordance with a planning permission, and most of them never come to the council’s attention. If you are facing an investigation, you have been unlucky!
This highlights the importance of maintaining good relationships with your neighbours. If you’re planning a development, especially an extension or alteration, engaging with neighbours before submitting an application can be beneficial.
Taking them a copy of your plans, perhaps with a bottle of wine, might help gain their support or at least pre-empt objections and potential complaints to the council. An angry neighbour who feels left out or treated unfairly can cause problems by reporting your building work to the council, which may trigger a planning enforcement investigation—even if you already have permission.
The Investigation Process
When the council receives a complaint, an enforcement officer usually visits the property without warning to investigate. They aim to determine whether a breach of planning control has taken place. If the property has planning permission, the officer often brings the approved plans and decision notice to compare them with the actual work. Although these surprise visits are controversial, officers see them as the fastest way to understand what’s happening on site.
Remember, receiving a visit from an enforcement officer is not a personal attack. You haven’t committed a criminal offence simply by failing to obtain planning permission. The officers are doing their job to investigate alleged breaches and determine if taking further action is ‘expedient’, meaning it’s in the public interest.
Dealing with the Enforcement Officer
If an enforcement officer visits, it is best to be honest, cooperative, and avoid being evasive or aggressive. They are not the enemy and are not there to judge or punish you.
Working with them early on can prevent the situation from escalating to a formal enforcement notice. Their frustration often stems from uncooperative individuals – they are usually happy to try and help people who are open and honest with them.
Planning Contravention Notices (PCNs)
In some cases, particularly when dealing with alleged changes of use rather than physical building works, the enforcement officer may issue a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN). This is a formal document requiring you to provide information to help the council determine if a breach has occurred.
You must respond to a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) truthfully and fully. The deadline is usually 21 days. Failing to reply can lead to a fine, though this doesn’t happen often.
A PCN might ask how the property is used, who lives there, or if it’s used as a holiday let. It’s best to get advice from a planning consultant before responding. Your answers can affect whether the council takes further action. Be honest, but don’t give information that could make your situation worse.
The Officer’s Discretion
It’s important to understand that local councils have the discretion to enforce planning rules—they don’t have to act on every breach. They only take action if they decide it’s expedient and serves the public interest. Councils typically reserve enforcement for serious breaches that cause real harm. If the issue is minor and causes little harm, they may choose not to pursue it further.
In such minor cases, an experienced planning consultant may be able to persuade the case officer that enforcement action is not justified and the case should be closed. In some cases, I have even been able to get councils to withdraw enforcement notices after they have been served.
Retrospective Planning Applications
If an enforcement officer finds a breach but thinks the development could get planning permission, they may invite you to submit a retrospective planning application. Despite common belief, the council assesses a retrospective application just like a regular one. You must use the same forms, submit the same plans, pay the same fee, and your proposal is judged against the same planning policies—regardless of whether the work is already done.
In most circumstances, if invited to submit a retrospective application, it is best to do so. Refusing this opportunity will likely lead to the council serving a formal enforcement notice, which significantly narrows your options and generally eliminates the possibility of a negotiated compromise.
You can submit a retrospective application even if you plan to change parts of the completed development. For example, if an extension was built slightly larger than approved and with a different roof, you can apply to keep the size but change the roof to something the council prefers. A planning consultant with enforcement experience can help you find the right compromises. They can also help present the application in the best way. Sometimes, they may suggest submitting two applications for slightly different versions of the project.
It is crucial to secure the services of a good designer and a planning consultant experienced in enforcement matterswhen submitting a retrospective application. Relying on someone without direct experience in enforcement can be detrimental.
Note that submitting a planning application (retrospective or otherwise) or appealing a refusal does not automatically stop the council from serving an enforcement notice. It’s advisable to maintain communication with the case officer and request that they hold off further action while your application or appeal is being considered.
The Enforcement Notice
The most powerful tool available to a council is the enforcement notice. This is a formal legal document alleging a specific breach of planning control and legally requiring you to take steps to remedy it within a set timeframe. Councils typically serve these notices as a last resort, often when individuals have been uncooperative and a negotiated compromise seems unlikely. Drafting these notices can be complex, and they often lead to appeals, which councils may prefer to avoid if possible.
An enforcement notice must include specific details. It will state the alleged breach and what steps you must take to fix it—usually reversing the unauthorised development. It will give a compliance period and the date it takes effect, which must be at least 28 days after it is served. The notice will also explain why it’s being issued and include a plan showing the affected land.
Once the council serves the notice, they can legally refuse any new planning application for the same development. If you don’t comply within the set time, you commit a criminal offence. This can lead to prosecution and fines. Even after you comply, the notice remains in force. If the same breach happens again, you automatically commit another offence.
Conclusion
Encountering a planning enforcement investigation can be daunting, but it is not necessarily the end of the road. The complexity of the planning system means it’s easy to unintentionally fall afoul of the rules.
My key advice for handling an investigation is:
- Understand that investigations are often triggered by neighbour complaints – try to keep neighbours informed and onside.
- Cooperate with the enforcement officer – they are doing their job and being open and honest is usually the best approach.
- If invited, consider submitting a retrospective planning application.
- Never ignore a formal enforcement notice.
- Seek professional advice immediately from a chartered town planner or a solicitor with experience in planning enforcement.
Planning enforcement is a complex area, and expert guidance can be invaluable in navigating the process, understanding your options, and potentially achieving a positive outcome. While challenging, many enforcement issues can be resolved through negotiation, a retrospective application or a successful appeal.
If you are facing an enforcement investigation, please contact me for some initial advice.
For more general advice on planning enforcement and planning appeals, check out my book: How to Get Planning Permission – An Insider’s Secrets. The government’s guidance on planning enforcement is also available for help.
