Commencement notices and the CIL amendment regulations
Miss the commencement notice and instalments fall away and a surcharge follows. Since 2019 the self-build exemption survives, which is not what older guidance says.
Submit the commencement notice to the collecting authority no later than the day before you start work. Miss it and, under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, you lose the right to pay by instalments, the whole charge falls due immediately, and a surcharge follows.
Since 2019 that miss no longer wipes out a self-build exemption outright, which it used to. The relief survives and a surcharge applies instead. That single change has saved a lot of self-builders from a five-figure bill, and plenty of advice online still describes the old position.
Why the notice exists at all
The levy is charged on the chargeable development, and the liability crystallises when development starts. The collecting authority has to know when that happens so it can issue a demand notice, start the instalment clock and, where relief has been claimed, begin the clawback period.
It cannot work that out from the permission. Permissions last three years and plenty are never implemented, so the Regulations put the duty on the person who intends to start.
Commencement here means the same thing it means elsewhere in planning law: a material operation under section 56(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Digging a foundation trench counts. So does laying out a road, demolition and, in most cases, installing a service connection. Clearing scrub usually does not. If you are unsure whether what you are about to do counts, serve the notice first, because there is no penalty for serving one and not starting immediately.
What to submit, and by when
The sequence for a self-builder is fixed and the order matters.
- The authority issues a liability notice after permission is granted.
- You submit an assumption of liability notice. Do this even if you think you are exempt.
- You claim the exemption or relief you are entitled to, on the authority's form.
- You wait for the authority to acknowledge the claim in writing. A claim that has not been granted is not an exemption.
- You submit the commencement notice, stating the intended start date, no later than the day before that date.
- You start.
Steps four and five are where schemes come unstuck. A claim submitted on the Friday and a digger on site on the Monday leaves no time for the acknowledgement, and relief that has not been granted before commencement can be lost.
What the 2019 amendment regulations changed
The Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 made three changes worth knowing.
| Before | After the 2019 amendments |
|---|---|
| Failure to submit a commencement notice withdrew relief or exemption entirely | Relief survives, and the authority may impose a surcharge instead |
| Regulation 123 lists limited what the levy could fund, and no more than five obligations could be pooled for one project | Pooling restriction removed, and infrastructure funding statements replaced regulation 123 lists |
| Section 106 monitoring fees sat on uncertain ground | Monitoring fees expressly permitted |
The first row is the one that matters to a self-builder. Before September 2019, a missed notice on a self-build exemption meant the full levy became payable, which in a high-rate charging area could run well past £20,000 on a single house. The change was made because the outcome was out of all proportion to the failure.
Do not read that as permission to be casual. The surcharge still applies, the instalment policy still falls away, and the authority has no discretion to waive either simply because you forgot.
What happens if you do not serve one
Three consequences, and they stack.
The instalment policy ceases to apply, so the entire chargeable amount becomes payable on the day the development starts rather than over the months the policy allows. On a large charge that is a cashflow problem on its own.
A surcharge is imposed for failure to submit the notice, calculated as a percentage of the chargeable amount subject to a cap. The current figures are in the Regulations and should be taken from there.
Late payment surcharges then run on top, applied at intervals after the payment becomes overdue. Interest also accrues.
The authority can also serve a CIL stop notice, which halts the development until payment is made, and can pursue recovery through the courts. Those powers are used sparingly, though they are used.
Evidence of service, and why it decides disputes
Almost every commencement notice dispute is about whether the notice was received, not about whether it was written.
Serve it by a method that generates proof. Where the authority has an online portal, use it and keep the submission receipt. Where it does not, send by recorded delivery and email the same document to the named CIL officer, asking for written acknowledgement. Keep the postal receipt and the email.
Then photograph the site on the day before the stated start, with the date visible in the file metadata, and keep the contractor's mobilisation records. If a dispute arises two years later about whether work began before the notice was served, that is the evidence that settles it.
Illustrative example. A self-builder serves the assumption of liability and the exemption claim in March, receives the acknowledgement in April, and serves the commencement notice on 3 May for a start on 4 May. Groundworks begin on the 4th. The exemption holds. Had the digger arrived on 20 April, the exemption claim would have been unacknowledged and the position far worse. The dates are illustrative.
Correcting a missed notice
Serve one immediately. A late notice takes effect from the day it is received rather than retrospectively, but serving it stops the position deteriorating and it shows good faith.
Then ask the collecting authority to review the surcharge. The Regulations provide for a review by the authority and, after that, an appeal to an appointed person through the Valuation Office Agency, within the periods the Regulations set. The grounds are narrow, and they are about whether the surcharge was correctly calculated and imposed rather than about whether it is fair.
Where a self-build exemption is at stake, remember the other obligations attached to it. The dwelling has to remain the owner's sole or main residence for three years from completion, the supporting evidence has to be supplied within the period allowed after completion, and a disqualifying event in that window brings the levy back with its own surcharge.
Two related points for anyone building one or two houses. The notices required under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 are a different animal entirely, and the distinction between those and the levy notice is set out in the piece on commencement and completion notices under the 2023 Act. And the biodiversity gain condition has its own small-site treatment, where the rules that differ for small sites affect the same self-build projects.
The 2023 Act also provides for an Infrastructure Levy to replace the Community Infrastructure Levy in time. As at September 2026 that replacement is not in general operation, so the 2010 Regulations remain the framework. The planning law timeline is the place to follow it, and the list of report types covers the supporting documents a self-build application needs.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your collecting authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports a self-build plot is likely to need.
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Frequently asked questions
When must a CIL commencement notice be submitted?
No later than the day before the day the chargeable development is due to start. Serving it earlier is fine and there is no penalty for serving one and then delaying the start, so if you are unsure whether an operation counts as commencement, serve the notice first rather than risk being late.
Does missing the notice still cancel a self-build exemption?
Not since the 2019 amendment regulations. Before September 2019 a missed commencement notice withdrew the exemption entirely, which produced bills out of proportion to the failure. The relief now survives and the authority may impose a surcharge instead, alongside the loss of the right to pay by instalments.
What counts as commencement for levy purposes?
A material operation as defined in section 56(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Digging a foundation trench, laying out a road, demolition and generally installing a service connection all count. Clearing scrub usually does not. Where the position is arguable, serve the notice before doing anything on site.
How do I prove I served the notice?
Use the authority's online portal where one exists and keep the submission receipt, or send by recorded delivery and email the same document to the named officer asking for written acknowledgement. Photograph the site on the day before the stated start date. Disputes are almost always about receipt rather than content.
Can a surcharge be appealed?
The Regulations provide for a review by the collecting authority and then an appeal to an appointed person through the Valuation Office Agency, within the periods they set. The grounds are narrow and concern whether the surcharge was correctly calculated and imposed, rather than whether the outcome seems harsh in the circumstances.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.