Change of use drawings for a London building, £759 in total
A shop becoming a flat, an office becoming a home, a house becoming something else: each starts with a question about which route the law allows. We answer it first, then measure the building and draw the application: £609 plus the £150 survey.
- £609 drawings + £150 survey (£759 total)
- Route chosen before drawing starts
- Free redraws until approval
What do change of use drawings cost in London?
Our fee is £609 for the drawings and £150 for the measured survey, £759 in total, with no VAT to add. The council’s fee is separate and paid to the council. We start by working out whether you need a full application, a prior approval or no application at all, because that decides what the drawings must show.
The £759 set
- A measured survey of the whole building, with floor areas and ceiling heights
- Existing plans showing how every room is used today
- Proposed plans, elevations and a site plan showing the new use, access, bins and cycle storage
- A written description of the old and new use, in the words the council’s form asks for
- The route decision in plain English: permitted development, prior approval or full application
- Submission and officer replies, with free redraws until approval
Do I need permission to change the use of my building?
Only if the change is material, and not if you stay inside one use class. The government’s guidance puts it plainly: moving from one use to another within the same class is not development (gov.uk). The Use Classes Order is what sets out the classes (article 3).
Outside a class, you need one of two things. Either permitted development rights cover the change, or you make a planning application. We do not guess which: we read the building’s history, the Article 4 directions and the conditions on any earlier consent, then tell you.
Shop or office to home: the Class MA route
Class MA lets a building in Class E use become a dwelling through a prior approval, not a full application. It has real limits. The building must have had a Class E use for at least two continuous years, it must not be listed, and it cannot be in a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Class MA).
The council then looks at nine named matters, among them whether the new homes get adequate natural light, whether the site floods and what noise reaches the new occupiers. Our drawings show those things so the officer can answer them from the plans.
- Two years in Class E use, continuously
- Not listed, and not in a National Park or AONB
- Completed within three years of the approval
- Light, flood risk, noise and fire safety all examined
When a house changes use
A house can become two homes, or a small HMO, or a small business. Each is its own route. Turning a house into two or more separate dwellings is a material change of use by the Act (section 55(3)(a)), and we draw it under flat conversion drawings because the layout rules are specific. Letting a house to sharers is an HMO conversion.
Whatever the new use, a change in how a building is used can bring building regulations with it, so ask about building regulations drawings at the same time. One survey covers both.
What decides whether you need to apply
- Same class
- Moving from one use to another within the same use class is not development, so it needs no planning permission. gov.uk, When is permission required?
- Material change
- A change of use of land or buildings needs planning permission if it is a material change of use. gov.uk, When is permission required?
- 2 years
- Under Class MA the building must have been in a Class E use for a continuous period of at least 2 years before the application for prior approval. GPDO 2015, Sch. 2 Part 3, Class MA.1(1)(b)
- 9 matters
- A Class MA prior approval looks at nine matters, among them transport, contamination, flooding, noise, natural light in habitable rooms and fire safety. GPDO 2015, Class MA.2(2)
- 3 years
- Once prior approval is given, the change of use must be completed within 3 years. GPDO 2015, Class MA.2(5)
- Listed
- Class MA is not available for a listed building or anything in its curtilage, or in a National Park or an AONB. GPDO 2015, Class MA.1(1)(d) and (e)
- £610
- The national fee schedule lists £610 per dwellinghouse for a change of use to separate dwellinghouses where fewer than ten are created, from 1 April 2026. National fee schedule from 1 April 2026, published by Bradford Council
Change of use questions
Can I turn my shop into a flat without planning permission?
Sometimes. If the premises have been in Class E use for at least two continuous years and are not listed, Class MA may allow it after a prior approval application. We check this before quoting.
Source: GPDO 2015, Class MA
What is the difference between prior approval and planning permission?
Prior approval means the principle is already granted and the council judges only a set list of matters. A planning application lets the council weigh the whole proposal against its policies.
Source: GPDO 2015, Class MA.2
Do I need a new use class to run a home business?
Not always. Using part of a home for work, where the home remains the main use, is often not a material change of use. A visitor-heavy business is different, and we say which at the quote.
Is the council fee included in the £759?
No. It is paid to the council. The national schedule lists £610 per dwellinghouse for a change of use to separate dwellings, and your council confirms what applies.
Does the survey have to be repeated for building regulations?
No. The survey is charged once per property visit, so later drawing sets for the same building show their drawings fee alone.
Other services people book with this one
- Flat conversion drawings (two flats)£879 drawings + £150 survey (£1,029 total)
- HMO conversion drawings£609 drawings + £150 survey (£759 total)
- Building regulations drawings£479 drawings + £150 survey (£629 total)
- Retrospective planning application£439 drawings + £150 survey (£589 total)
- Householder planning drawings£479 drawings + £150 survey (£629 total)
Tell us what the building is now and what you want it to be
Send the address and the two uses. We check the route, the Article 4 position and the building’s history, then reply with a fixed fee.