Housing: Permitted Development Rights Extended

Housing: Permitted Development Rights Extended

In an effort to boost the housing supply throughout the country, the UK government introduced a temporary policy in 2013. It allowed the conversion of certain types of office buildings to residential use without the need for full planning permission. Known as Permitted Development Rights (PDR), it was originally introduced for a period of three years but was made permanent in 2016.

PDR was opposed by many London boroughs and Local Authorities. There has been a series of discussions and debates regarding the benefits achieved by the permitted development rules. In recent years, there has been a growing call to end permitted development rights, but the government is not only unrelenting but doing the opposite. The PDR rule has been extended to allow entire blocks of office to be demolished and rebuilt as residential homes and that too without planning permission.

While data shows that permitted development is boosting housing figures, there are some serious concerns about the quality and affordability of the units. It is alleged that many such developments have delivered extremely poor-quality housing, with just a small percentage of homes meeting national space standards. The Local Government Association (LGA) has argued that permitted development rights are worsening the situation by allowing developers to escape the responsibility of providing affordable housing obligations.

Shelter, the homelessness charity Shelter has claimed that 10,340 affordable homes have been lost due to permitted development rights.

Shelter, the homelessness charity Shelter has claimed that 10,340 affordable homes have been lost due to permitted development rights.

The Government introduced permitted development rights with the intention to revitalize and energize town centers and find an economical way of reducing the shortage of homes. However, the experts point out that quality must not be compromised in such conversions. In terms of quantity, permitted development rights can be termed a success. 64,798 dwellings were converted from office to residential alone from 2015 to 2020. Croydon is leading the table with 3,217 conversions of its offices to residential homes in five years. Birmingham stands second with 1,760 conversions for the same period.

In fact, the top 20 areas for permitted development office to residential conversions happened either outside of London or in outer London Boroughs, with one exception of Lambeth. Experts do not find this out of place, as the whole Central Activities Zone of London has had its permitted development rights removed. The even balance between commercial and residential values in these locations is a more logical explanation for this development.

Permitted development will be an attractive proposition in places where residential values exceed those of commercial property. A large percentage of the older office stock in decent residential locations has already undergone conversions or redeveloped. This explains the slowdown in permitted development rights applications in London from 259 in July-September 2014 to a mere 48 applications in April-June 2021.

The government is also addressing the issue of small homes by stating that all new homes delivered through permitted development rights must meet the Nationally Described Space Standard and local design codes. Through another amendment to the General Permitted Development Orders (GPDO), the government has stated that no permission will be granted for dwelling less than 37 square meters if it doesn't comply with the Nationally Described Space Standard.

The onus is on the government to ensure checks and balances are in place so that a positive culture of pride and performance returns to the high street.

The onus is on the government to ensure checks and balances are in place so that a positive culture of pride and performance returns to the high street.

VirginLand by Ringley is The Ringley Group's land team, we find virgin land as well as properties suitable for permitted development. Virginland is your outsourced land team, we have sophisticated tools to target and bring forward off market land opportunities and an array of data sources and data overlays so that land opportunities we bring forward are presented to Clients with a planning report.