Two Victorian terraced houses on a London street, one painted white and one in yellow stock brick, with bay windows
Floor plan drawings, pencil sketches of a house, a scale rule and a protractor spread across a desk
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels

Lawful development certificate · London Borough of Camden

Lawful development certificate in Camden, from £695 fixed

On 9 June 2026 Camden adopted Article 4 directions in five conservation areas, from Belsize to Redington and Frognal, removing some permitted development rights from front elevations. Before applying for a lawful development certificate we check your address against the property maps, because a certificate cannot confirm a right that has gone.

Lawfulness certificatefrom £545 drawings + £150 survey (£695 total)
Council fee£274
Get your fixed feeFFP-01 · Rev A
Our fixed fee£795
Council fee, paid to your council£548
Our fee + council fee£1,343
CoverageAll 33 boroughs

Householder application fee, paid to your council at submission.

Plus the Planning Portal's own charge if the application goes through the Portal: up to £149 including VAT, depending on the application type, and some types have none (source).

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Starts at£150
Boroughs33/33
Stages5

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The tiled roofs and upper floors of brick semi-detached houses in Canterbury, England, with trees behind
Semi-detached houses in Canterbury, England. Photo: angie duong / Pexels.

What Camden Council asks of a lawful development certificate

From the council's Article 4 Directions, heritage and conservation (adopted 9 June 2026 (Belsize, Fitzjohns Netherhall, Hampstead, South Hampstead, Redington and Frognal)).

  • Camden adopted Article 4 directions on 9 June 2026 for the Belsize, Fitzjohns Netherhall, Hampstead, South Hampstead (formerly Swiss Cottage) and Redington and Frognal conservation areas, removing some permitted development rights from houses and flats. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • Older directions still apply in other areas, including Primrose Hill (adopted 3 March 1983), 32-66 and 72-90 South Hill Park (10 January 1989) and a 1994 direction removing the right to lay hard standing at the properties it names on Belsize Avenue. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • The Belsize fact sheet (amended June 2026) says replacing front windows or doors, or side ones facing the road, with ones of a different material or design needs planning permission for houses and flats, while like-for-like replacements matching material, profile and opening do not. (source, checked 25 October 2026)
  • The fact sheet says there is no change to existing planning controls for the rear elevations of properties, and that there is currently no fee for applications needed because of the Article 4 direction. (source, checked 25 October 2026)

What Camden lawful development certificate drawings have to show

Since 9 June 2026 the first job on a Camden certificate is to check the address against the new directions and their property maps. In Belsize, Fitzjohns Netherhall, Hampstead, South Hampstead and Redington and Frognal, front-elevation work that was permitted development may now need a planning application, and a certificate cannot confirm a right that has been removed.

The Belsize fact sheet says rear elevations keep their existing controls, so a rear extension or a rear dormer can still be tested against permitted development there, outside any listed building. In that case we draw the existing and proposed plans and elevations with the permitted development dimensions marked and send the certificate application. Where the direction applies, we tell you that the application route is planning, which the council currently charges no fee for.

PS2 · at a glance

Camden: 394 householder decisions

Camden
Approvals, prior approvals included89.1%

351 of 394 granted. London: 85.8%.

Decided within 8 weeks60.8%

129 of 212 applications, prior approvals excluded.

Source: MHCLG PS2, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Dark tick: London.
Floor plan drawings, pencil sketches of a house, a scale rule and a protractor spread across a desk
Sketches and floor plans: the existing and proposed drawings start as a measured layout like these. Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels.

What it costs in Camden

  • Certificate of lawfulness: from £545 drawings + £150 survey (£695 total), plus £274 to Camden Council.
  • Half the equivalent planning fee for a proposed use certificate.

Lawful development certificate across London · Camden planning rules · every price

Answers

Camden lawful development certificate questions

Can I still get a lawful development certificate in Belsize Park, Camden?
For some work, yes. The June 2026 Belsize direction removes rights on the front of houses and flats, and on sides facing a road, such as changing windows or doors to a different material or design. The fact sheet says rear elevations keep their existing controls, so rear work can still be tested for a certificate.
Which Camden conservation areas got new Article 4 directions in 2026?
Belsize, Fitzjohns Netherhall, Hampstead, South Hampstead (formerly Swiss Cottage) and Redington and Frognal, all adopted on 9 June 2026. Each has a map or list of the properties affected on the Camden website. Older directions still cover parts of Primrose Hill, South Hill Park and other areas.
Is there a fee for a Camden planning application caused by an Article 4 direction?
Camden's Belsize fact sheet says there is currently no fee for applications made as a result of the Article 4(1) direction. If your work needs planning permission only because the direction removed the right, you apply for permission instead of a certificate, and the council fee is waived. Our drawing fee still applies.

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01
Measured surveyWithin five working days
£150
02
Existing drawingsThe building as it stands
£175
03
Proposed drawingsYour scheme, revised until right
£225
04
Planning application packForms, statements, OS plans
£125
05
Submission and agent servicePortal submission, queries handled
£120
Total, planning application£795
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