Reverting to a previous lawful use and when it is allowed

There is no general right to go back to what a building used to be. Reverting to a previous lawful use is itself a change of use, and unless something in the legislation, in a permission or in the planning history preserves the old use, it needs planning permission like any other change. The exceptions are narrow and specific, and the doctrine that defeats most reversion arguments is abandonment.

If you are thinking of taking a shop back to a workshop, a restaurant back to a shop, or a barn back to agriculture, work through the four questions below before you move a single fitting.

The statutory right to resume a previous use

Section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 contains the reversion provisions, and they are narrower than their reputation.

Section 57(2) deals with temporary permissions. Where planning permission was granted for a limited period, permission is not required at the end of that period to resume the use that was normal before the temporary permission was granted. This is the clean case: a field given a two-year permission for a caravan site reverts to agriculture on expiry without a further application.

Section 57(5) deals with enforcement. Where an enforcement notice has been served, permission is not required for the use for which the land could lawfully have been used had the unlawful development not been carried out.

The temporary use rights in Part 4 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 have a similar effect built in, because the permitted use ends after the specified number of days and the previous use continues underneath it. The day limits have been amended more than once, so read the current text rather than a summary.

Everything outside those routes is an ordinary change of use, assessed against the development plan.

Where abandonment defeats the argument

The usual position is that the previous lawful use survives the current one and can be resumed, because a building has a lawful use until something extinguishes it. Abandonment is the main thing that extinguishes it.

The courts have approached abandonment through four factors, drawn from Hartley v Minister of Housing and Local Government and applied since: the physical condition of the building, the length of the period of non-use, whether there has been any intervening use, and the owner's intentions as evidenced at the time. No single factor decides it, and the assessment is on the facts.

That fourth factor is the one people misunderstand. An intention to resume the old use at some point, expressed now, carries little weight. What matters is the evidence of intention over the period of non-use: marketing particulars, planning applications made, correspondence with the authority, insurance and rating records, equipment retained or removed.

A building stripped of its plant, reroofed for a different purpose, empty for many years and rated for a different use is in trouble on all four factors at once. A building shut for two years during a probate, kept insured, with the fittings in place and a lease being marketed for the same use, is not.

Evidence of continuity

If you are arguing that the old use has never been abandoned, the evidence is documentary and it should be assembled before you approach the authority.

• Business rates records showing the description and the rateable value over time.
• Accounts, VAT returns and trading records for the earlier use.
• Utility bills showing consumption consistent with the use continuing.
• Leases, licences and marketing particulars.
• Dated photographs of the interior showing plant and fittings in place.
• Statutory declarations from people with direct knowledge, covering the periods the documents do not.

The burden sits on the applicant and the standard is the balance of probabilities. Gaps matter more than volume, so map the timeline first and then look for documents that cover the gaps.

Flexible permissions and reversion windows

Some permissions build in the answer. A permission granted for a flexible use will name the uses between which changes may be made and the period during which the flexibility operates, and at the end of that period the position depends on the permission's own wording. Read the decision notice and every condition on it rather than assuming a general rule applies.

Prior approvals under Part 3 of the General Permitted Development Order work differently again. A conversion carried out under a prior approval creates a new lawful use, and the fact that the previous use was lawful does not give a right to go back to it once the conversion is implemented and occupied.

Conditions that prevent reversion

Check every permission in the planning history, not just the most recent one. Conditions that block reversion are common and they are usually enforceable.

A condition in the form that the premises shall be used only for the purpose specified and for no other purpose removes the flexibility that the Use Classes Order would otherwise give, and it also removes the previous use if it was granted on a permission that superseded it. A condition requiring the cessation of a former use, or the removal of plant associated with it, has the same effect.

Section 106 obligations can restrict use too, and they survive changes of ownership. So can an Article 4 direction, though that removes permitted development rights rather than extinguishing a use.

Where a restrictive condition is the only obstacle, an application under section 73 to vary or remove it is the route, and the authority will assess the planning merits of the unrestricted use afresh.

Certificates that confirm the position

A lawful development certificate is the only formal way to establish that a use is lawful. Two flavours exist.

A certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development under section 191 confirms the current position, which is useful when the argument is that the old use was never abandoned and continues as the lawful use. A certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development under section 192 confirms that a proposed use would be lawful, which is the one to use before you commit money to a reversion.

Both are decided on evidence rather than on planning merits, so the authority cannot refuse because it would prefer the current use. Fees differ between the two, so check the current schedule.

Practical steps before changing back

1. Pull the full planning history for the property from the authority's register, including every decision notice and every condition.
2. Write the use timeline, year by year, and mark the gaps.
3. Test the four abandonment factors honestly against that timeline.
4. Check for section 106 obligations, Article 4 directions and any restrictive conditions.
5. Apply for a certificate under section 192 before spending on fit-out, and expect it to take the usual determination period.
6. Where the certificate route will not work, apply for planning permission with a Planning Statement addressing the policy position on the use you want.

And do not rely on an authority's informal view. An email from a duty planner saying the reversion looks acceptable is not a certificate and binds nobody.

Further reading on the doctrine itself is in abandonment of use, and on the classes that sit outside the Order in sui generis uses.

Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports a change of use application on your site is likely to need. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. This is general guidance rather than legal advice, so check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.