Class MA change of use
Class MA allows Class E commercial premises to convert to residential under permitted development. Two of its biggest restrictions were removed in 2024, which opened the route up considerably. The conditions that remain are the ones that decide whether your building qualifies.
Class E is a broad use class. It covers shops, offices, restaurants and cafes, gyms, clinics, nurseries and various other commercial, business and service uses. Class MA is the permitted development right that allows premises in that use class to become dwellinghouses without a full planning application.
What changed in March 2024
Two conditions that had limited the route since its introduction were removed:
- The 1,500 square metre floorspace cap is gone. Building size is no longer a limiting factor under this right.
- The three-month vacancy requirement is gone. The building no longer needs to have stood empty before an application.
If you looked at this route before 2024 and were told your building was too big, or that you would have to empty it first and wait, that advice is now out of date. It is worth looking again.
What did not change. The building must have been in a qualifying Class E use for a continuous period of at least two years before the date of the application. That condition remains, and it is where a lot of otherwise viable schemes fall down — particularly where a unit has changed hands, sat between tenants, or been used for something outside Class E in the recent past.
Where Class MA is not available
The right does not apply where the land is or forms part of:
- a site of special scientific interest;
- a listed building, or land within its curtilage;
- a scheduled monument;
- land within a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or a World Heritage Site.
Separately, a number of local planning authorities have made Article 4 directions removing this right in defined areas, frequently town centres and designated employment areas. Whether one applies to your site is a question about that specific address, and it needs checking before anything else is spent.
The prior approval matters
Where the right is available, the council's assessment is limited to specified matters. Depending on the building and the site, these can include:
| Matter | What it usually means in practice |
|---|---|
| Transport impacts | Particularly ensuring safe site access |
| Contamination risks | Often a desk study, sometimes intrusive investigation |
| Flooding risks | Flood risk assessment where the site is in a flood zone |
| Noise from commercial premises | Impact on the intended residential occupiers — common where neighbouring units are still trading |
| Adequate natural light | All habitable rooms. Deep-plan buildings frequently struggle here |
| Impacts in industrial areas | Where the site sits in or adjoins an industrial area |
| Conservation area ground floor | Where applicable, the impact of losing ground floor commercial use |
| Fire safety | For buildings meeting the specified height conditions |
Natural light is worth singling out. It applies to all habitable rooms, and it is the matter that most often forces a redesign on deep commercial floorplates. It is better to find that out at the layout stage than after submission.
Our process for Class MA
- Eligibility assessment. Use class history, the two-year condition, designations, and whether an Article 4 direction affects the site.
- Scoping. Which prior approval matters apply to this building, and which specialist reports will be needed.
- Written advice. The realistic route, the risks, and the likely total cost including third-party reports.
- Preparation and submission. The application, supporting statements, and coordination of the technical evidence.
- Determination. Council liaison through the 56-day period, and advice on the decision.
Larger or more complex commercial schemes, and buildings requiring extensive technical evidence, are quoted bespoke rather than under the standard packages. We will tell you which applies to your building before you commit.
Fixed fees for this service
Quoted in writing before anything starts. No hourly billing.
Basic
Eligibility assessment and written advice.
- Initial eligibility assessment
- Review of your proposed development
- Written planning advice
- Recommended route and next steps
Standard
The application handled end to end.
- Everything needed for the agreed standard submission
- Application preparation
- Submission management
- Council liaison
- Reasonable clarification responses
Premium
Strategic support for complex cases.
- Strategic planning assessment
- Full case management
- Coordination of more complex evidence and support
- Council liaison
- Post-decision guidance
Council application fees and third-party reports or drawings are separate unless expressly included. Complex schemes are quoted bespoke — we will tell you before you commit if your project falls outside the standard packages.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what people actually ask us.
What is Class MA?
Class MA is a permitted development right allowing the change of use of Class E premises, which covers commercial, business and service uses such as shops, offices, cafes and clinics, to residential dwellinghouses.
Because it is a permitted development right, the council is not deciding whether the principle of residential use is acceptable. It considers a defined list of prior approval matters instead.
Is there still a floorspace limit on Class MA?
No. The 1,500 square metre floorspace cap that previously applied was removed in March 2024.
That was a significant change. Buildings that were too large to use the route before that date may now be capable of it, subject to all the other conditions.
Does the building need to have been empty first?
No. The three-month continuous vacancy requirement was also removed in March 2024. An occupied building can be the subject of a Class MA application.
What has not changed is the requirement about prior use, which is a separate condition and still applies.
How long must the building have been in commercial use?
The building must have been in a qualifying use for a continuous period of at least two years before the date of the prior approval application.
This condition remains in force and is one of the first things we check, because it is frequently the point on which an otherwise promising scheme fails. Evidence of that use needs to be capable of being demonstrated.
What matters does the council assess?
The prior approval matters include transport impacts, particularly safe site access; contamination risks; flooding risks; the impacts of noise from commercial premises on the intended occupiers; the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms; impacts in industrial areas; ground floor impacts in conservation areas where applicable; the loss of certain nursery or health centre services where applicable; and fire safety impacts for buildings meeting specified height conditions.
Which of these apply depends on the building and the site. Several typically require specialist reports.
Which buildings are excluded?
Class MA is not available where the land is or forms part of a site of special scientific interest, a listed building or land within its curtilage, or a scheduled monument. It is also not available where the site is within a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a World Heritage Site.
Other restrictions can apply through Article 4 directions, which several local authorities have made specifically to limit this route in defined areas.
How long does a Class MA application take?
The determination period is 56 days from validation. Preparing the application usually takes longer than that, because of the drawings and the technical reports the prior approval matters require.
We tell you at the assessment stage which reports your building is likely to need, so the programme and the budget are realistic from the start.
Not sure which route applies to your property?
Send us the address and what you are proposing. We will tell you whether there is a Prior Approval or permitted development route worth pursuing, before you commit to anything.
info@planningservicesonline.co.uk
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