How to check if your property has an Article 4 direction

An Article 4 direction is one of those planning controls that catches owners out. It removes specific permitted development rights, so works you would normally be free to do, such as changing your windows, painting your house or building a small extension, need a planning application first.

This guide is mainly about England. Where Wales or Scotland differ, it says so.

Method 1: Check the site with Planning Constraints

Check a site free shows which council covers the address and whether it is in a conservation area, which is where Article 4 directions are most often found. The Article 4 check itself is part of the site report (£9.99, one-off), which covers everything we can check within 500 m of your pin, for 30 days. The report link never expires.

Where the council's published data records which classes of permitted development a direction removes, the report lists them, with a link to the legislation. Some directions publish no class codes at all. In that case the report tells you a direction applies and you need to read the direction itself on the council's website (Method 2).

1. Open the site checker
2. Search for your postcode or address
3. Review the free result, then open the site report if you want the Article 4 check
4. If a direction is shown, note its reference and read the council's own document

Know the limit of the data. In England, Article 4 data reaches us from the planning.data.gov.uk national dataset, and that depends on each council submitting its directions. The dataset itself says it "may be incomplete and not yet cover all of England". When we checked on 19 October 2026, 118 data providers had contributed. So a site that comes back clear is clear in the data we hold, not proof that no direction exists. We show what we found, what came back clear, and where a source couldn't be checked. Some councils don't publish every dataset, so ask the council where it matters.

Method 2: Check your council's planning pages

Your local planning authority makes and publishes its Article 4 directions. Search for "[your council name] Article 4 direction" to find:

• A list of current directions
• Maps showing the areas they cover
• The text of each direction, which says exactly which classes of permitted development are removed

This is the most reliable source, because it tells you precisely what is affected. A direction on a conservation area street might only remove the right to change windows and doors, while one in an HMO hotspot might remove the right to convert a dwelling to a small house in multiple occupation. If the website is unclear, phone the planning department and ask. A direction can also apply to a single property or a few buildings, so a street-level map is not always enough.

Method 3: Local authority search

If you are buying, your solicitor will order a local authority search (CON29) once your offer is accepted. It should reveal any Article 4 direction affecting the property, but it arrives after you have committed, so check earlier if the answer would change your offer or your plans. Planning Constraints is not a CON29 or an official search.

What is an Article 4 direction?

Normally, homeowners in England have "permitted development rights" under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. These allow certain works without a planning application, such as small extensions, loft conversions and changing windows.

An Article 4 direction is an order made by the local planning authority (or the Secretary of State) that withdraws one or more of those rights for a defined area or property. Once it is in force, you need to apply for planning permission for the works it covers, even though identical works elsewhere would be allowed freely.

Wales and Scotland have their own permitted development rules, and their own Article 4 directions. Do not assume an English answer applies there.

Where are Article 4 directions commonly found?

Conservation areas

The most common use. Councils apply Article 4 directions in conservation areas to control changes such as:

• Replacing timber windows with uPVC
• Changing front doors
• Altering or removing boundary walls and railings
• Painting or rendering external walls
• Changing roofing materials
• Installing satellite dishes

The aim is to protect the character of the area from gradual erosion by small changes that are each minor on their own.

HMO conversion areas

In areas with many houses in multiple occupation, councils sometimes remove the right to change a dwelling (Use Class C3) to a small HMO (Use Class C4). This is common in university towns and cities. If you are a landlord, this is the direction that matters most.

Employment areas

Some councils use Article 4 directions to stop offices and other commercial buildings converting to homes under permitted development, to protect employment space.

What happens if an Article 4 direction applies?

You need to submit a planning application for the work that would otherwise have been permitted development. Three things are worth knowing:

• Fees differ by nation. In England, a planning application fee is usually payable. The exemption for applications needed only because of an Article 4 direction was removed from 17 January 2018, so you pay the fee for the type of application you make (householder applications cost less than full applications). In Wales, applications required solely because an Article 4 direction removes permitted development are still exempt from the fee. Check the current fee on the Planning Portal before you apply.
• The council decides on the merits. A direction is not a ban. The council assesses the application against the development plan and national policy like any other, and can approve it with conditions, for example on materials or finish.
• Ask first. The council's pre-application advice service or a lawful development certificate can confirm whether your project needs an application at all.

Summary

Three ways to check for an Article 4 direction:

1. Site report: check a site free, then add the Article 4 check in the £9.99 site report, remembering that England's data depends on each council's submissions
2. Most detail: your council's website, which holds the direction itself and says exactly which rights are removed
3. During a purchase: the local authority search, ordered by your solicitor after your offer is accepted

An Article 4 direction does not stop work. It means you ask permission first for things you could otherwise do freely. In England you will usually pay a fee to ask.

Sources

• Explanatory note to SI 2017/1314, the 2017 England fees amendment that allows a fee where permitted development rights have been withdrawn by a direction or condition (in force 17 January 2018)
• The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications and Site Visits) (Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 5, the Welsh exemption for applications needed only because of an Article 4 direction
• planning.data.gov.uk: Article 4 direction area dataset, for the coverage statement and provider count
• Planning Portal: permitted development rights