Recommendation 95

Permitted development rights (PDRs) allow certain building works and changes of use to take place without having to submit a planning application. The Government’s policy on PDRs for converting Use Class E properties to housing has changed regularly over the last four years, alternately expanding, retracting and again expanding access to PDRs. Most recently, in February 2024, the then Government extended PDRs and lowered the threshold for converting Use Class E properties to housing so that commercial buildings of any size could be converted. 179 It also removed the requirement for a property to have been empty for three months. These changes were expected to deliver an additional 1,700 residential units by 2029–30. 180