Enfield withdraws an incomplete certificate application after 21 days and keeps a fee. We send a complete one: survey, drawings, and the evidence it needs.
Photo: sludgegulper, BY-SA 2.0
Enfield's how-to-apply page makes two points owners rarely see. First, if you think your proposed change will not alter the overall character of your home and will not need planning permission, the council recommends a certificate of lawful development. Second, the council says it is not able to confirm whether the current use of a property is authorised outside that process: if you think the use is lawful and want confirmation, you submit a certificate application.
The page also sets a deadline. If you do not provide the information required within 21 days of submission and the application is withdrawn as invalid, the council retains an administration fee to cover its costs, and the householder and certificate applications are in the same band. A complete application at the start avoids the loss, which is the practical reason we assemble survey, plans and evidence together.
A certificate does not apply Enfield's own policies. The council's policy DMD 11 says a single-storey rear extension must not exceed 3 metres on a terrace or semi or 4 on a detached house and must keep within a 45 degree line from the neighbour's window, and DMD 13 asks for dormers inset 500 to 750 millimetres. A certificate looks only at the permitted development limits in the order, so a design can be lawful under Class A even where it would fail DMD 11 as an application.
The two routes apply different tests.
| Question | Certificate | Householder application |
|---|---|---|
| Test applied | Permitted development limits in the order | Enfield's policies, such as DMD 11 and DMD 13 |
| Rear extension depth | 3 m (4 m detached) under Class A | 3 m (4 m detached) and a 45 degree line under DMD 11 |
| Dormer | 40 or 50 cubic metres under Class B | Inset 500 to 750 mm under DMD 13 |
| Conservation area | Class B unavailable | Policy plus any Article 4 direction |
Enfield Council, Development Management Document, policies DMD 11 and DMD 13; GPDO 2015 Schedule 2 Part 1.
The fee includes our measured visit. The bracketed figure applies if you already have measured drawings.
Enfield has 22 conservation areas. Its page says the council may issue an Article 4 direction to protect particularly important features, requiring an application for works that would not normally need one. A certificate cannot cover those works, so we read the direction for your street first.
For example, a semi in Winchmore Hill outside any direction, with a 3 metre extension and a dormer under 50 cubic metres, is a clean certificate case. The same plan one street into a conservation area is not.
Enfield decided 920 householder applications in the year to June 2026 with prior approvals set aside and 851 inside 8 weeks, the same 8-week period the law gives for a certificate. The council fee for a proposed-use certificate is half the planning fee for the same development.
Every figure is linked to the page or document we read.
Enfield says that if the required information is not provided within 21 days and the application is withdrawn as invalid, it retains an administration fee, with householder and certificate applications in the same band.
Source: Enfield Council, How to make a planning applicationEnfield's page, read in October 2026, recommends a certificate of lawful development where a proposed change will not alter the overall character of a home and will not need planning permission.
Source: Enfield Council, How to make a planning applicationEnfield has 22 conservation areas, and may issue an Article 4 direction to protect important features within them.
Source: Enfield Council, Conservation areasEnfield's policy DMD 11 limits a single-storey rear extension to 3 metres on a terrace or semi and 4 metres on a detached house, within a 45 degree line.
Source: Enfield Council, Development Management Document, policy DMD 11The council must decide a lawful development certificate within 8 weeks, and the fee for a proposed-use certificate is 50% of the planning fee.
Source: GOV.UK, Fees for planning applicationsEnfield decided 920 householder applications between July 2025 and June 2026, prior approvals excluded, and 851 of them were decided within 8 weeks.
Source: MHCLG, Planning application statistics PS2, July 2025 to June 2026Class B permits a roof extension of up to 40 cubic metres on a terraced house and 50 cubic metres in any other case.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class BTell us about your project and get a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. If you don't need planning permission at all, we'll tell you that too — for free.
Yes where you think a change will not alter the overall character of your home and needs no planning permission. Enfield also says it cannot confirm that a current use of a property is authorised, so a certificate application is the way to get that confirmation.
If the required information is not provided within 21 days of submission and the application is withdrawn as invalid, Enfield retains an administration fee. Sending a complete application with plans and evidence avoids that.
No. A certificate applies the permitted development limits, which for a rear extension are 3 metres, or 4 on a detached house. DMD 11 applies to a planning application and adds a 45 degree line from the neighbour's window.
Not for a dormer, since Class B does not apply there, and not for works an Article 4 direction removes. Enfield has 22 conservation areas, and its conservation page links the directions.
£715 inc survey (£515 if you supply measured drawings). That covers the measured survey, the drawings and the application. Enfield's own fee is separate and goes to the council.
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