Last reviewed: April 2026 · Reflects the Levelling-up & Regeneration Act 2023 single 10-year rule
If a neighbour, landowner or developer is breaking planning rules, you have a right to act. We draft and submit a professionally argued enforcement complaint on your behalf — one that articulates the harm and gives the council the reasoned planning basis it needs to act. And if you’d rather not have your name on the file, we can submit the complaint on our headed paper as your agent.
Fixed fee from £250 · Drafted by a Chartered Town Planner (MRTPI) · Submitted in 3 working days
Enforcement is all about councils acting where there is demonstrable planning harm. Council enforcement teams are overstretched — the RTPI consistently identifies enforcement as the most under-resourced planning function in England, with caseloads often exceeding 100 per officer. The cases that actually get acted on are the ones that arrive strong, well-articulated, and with the harm clearly evidenced. That is exactly what we draft.
We frame your complaint around the s.172 expediency test, the development plan, and demonstrable harm — the exact things a council needs to justify acting.
Vague complaints get filed. Specific, evidenced complaints that articulate the harm get site visits. We give the case officer everything they need to escalate the matter.
If you’d rather your name didn’t appear, we submit on our headed paper as your agent. Your identity is also protected under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the council’s own Local Enforcement Plan.
Small village? Shared driveway? Landlord you still rent from? We help you act on a breach without burning your day-to-day relationships.
Section 171A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 defines a breach as either carrying out development without the required permission, or failing to comply with a planning condition. In practice, that covers a wide range of common situations:
Extensions beyond permitted development, outbuildings used as living accommodation, dormers, raised decking, hardstandings, dropped kerbs, walls or fences over the height limit, demolition in a conservation area without consent.
House converted into an HMO without permission, dwelling split into flats, residential use of agricultural land, commercial use of a garden or garage, short-term lets where an Article 4 direction applies, business operating from a residential address.
Construction outside approved hours, unauthorised materials, unimplemented landscaping, occupancy ties ignored, drainage or ecology conditions never discharged, noise limits exceeded, lorries entering outside agreed times.
Works to a listed building without Listed Building Consent — a criminal offence under s.9 of the Listed Buildings Act 1990. Replacement windows, stripped interiors, lost features, unauthorised cladding or extensions.
Felling or pruning of trees protected by a TPO. Unnotified works to trees in a conservation area. Loss of landscaping that was secured by planning condition. All criminal offences carrying significant fines.
Affordable housing not delivered, financial contributions not paid, infrastructure obligations ignored. Enforced via injunction or direct action under s.106(5)–(6) TCPA 1990.
The old 4-year immunity rule for unauthorised building works and conversions to a single dwelling has been abolished. Section 115 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 amended s.171B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to introduce a single 10-year limit for all breaches of planning control.
This has been in force since 25 April 2024. It is not retrospective — breaches that had already become lawful under the old 4-year rule before that date remain lawful. But for everything that arose on or after 25 April 2024, the clock now runs for ten years before immunity is achieved.
Deliberate concealment can defeat immunity entirely (the Welwyn Hatfield doctrine and ss.171BA–171BC concealment orders). If you suspect a developer has been hiding a breach, the time limit may not apply at all.
Under section 172(1) TCPA 1990, a council can only issue an enforcement notice where it appears to them that (a) there has been a breach and (b) it is expedient to issue the notice having regard to the development plan and other material considerations.
“Would this development have been granted permission if it had been applied for?”
If the honest answer is “probably yes”, the council will normally invite a retrospective application under s.73A and the breach is regularised. That is why complaints framed as personal grievances fail — they don’t engage with the planning merits at all.
We identify the precise Local Plan policies the breach conflicts with, quantify the harm (overlooking, loss of light, noise, parking, character, ecology, heritage), reference the NPPF 2024 chapters that apply, and present comparable refused applications. The case officer is left with a written justification for action.
Once a complaint is logged, the council has a range of options. In many cases the first thing they do is invite the offender to regularise the breach by submitting a retrospective planning application. That’s not the end of the road for you — it’s another opportunity. See the first card below.
The most common council response. Under section 73A TCPA 1990, the offender is invited to submit a retrospective planning application. That triggers a fresh statutory public consultation period — meaning you, your neighbours and any other interested party get a formal opportunity to object to the development on its planning merits. We can then write the objection letter for you under our core objection service. Two bites at the cherry.
Section 171C TCPA 1990. The council’s formal information-gathering tool. The recipient must answer within 21 days — failure or false answers are criminal offences. Often the first step we push for.
Section 172. The main remedy. Specifies the breach, the steps required to remedy it and the compliance period. Ignoring an enforcement notice is a criminal offence under s.179 carrying an unlimited fine.
Section 171E. Takes effect immediately for up to 56 days (extended from 28 days by the Levelling-up Act 2023). Used to halt active works while a formal notice is prepared.
Section 187A. Quick remedy where a planning condition is being broken. No right of appeal — non-compliance is a criminal offence. Highly effective where conditions are clear.
For land or buildings whose condition is harming the amenity of the area. Untidy sites, abandoned plots, overgrown gardens, eyesore properties.
Section 187B. Where the breach is serious, persistent or imminent — for example unauthorised demolition of a listed building or imminent encampment. High Court order.
Personal data submitted to a council in an enforcement complaint is processed under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. Every council’s published Local Enforcement Plan — required by NPPF 2024 paragraph 59 — commits to keeping complainant identities confidential.
But there is a stronger option. When Planning Voice submits the complaint as your agent, your name does not appear in the file at all. The council corresponds with us. We pass relevant updates to you. The alleged offender sees only our name on any disclosure.
Identity is only ever released by the council if a court orders it — a rare event that effectively never happens at the complaint stage.
Tell us what you’ve seen and where. We’ll check the planning history on the council’s portal and tell you honestly whether there’s a breach worth pursuing.
Yes. Most councils accept anonymous reports, but having us represent you is more effective. We submit on our headed paper as your agent — the council corresponds with us, and your name never appears in the file.
This is the most common council response. Under section 73A TCPA 1990 the offender is invited to apply for retrospective permission to regularise the breach. That triggers a fresh statutory public consultation period — meaning you and your neighbours get a formal opportunity to object to the development on its planning merits. We then write the objection letter for you under our core objection service. It is genuinely two bites at the cherry.
No. Standard LPA practice, set out in every council’s published Local Enforcement Plan, is that complainant identities are kept confidential under the Data Protection Act 2018. With us as your agent, the question never arises — the council only ever sees us.
Not on its own — except for unauthorised works to listed buildings, protected trees, or unauthorised adverts. It only becomes criminal if the council issues an enforcement notice and the owner ignores it (s.179 TCPA 1990).
Since 25 April 2024, England has a single 10-year rule. After 10 years of continuous unauthorised development or use, the breach becomes lawful unless it was deliberately concealed. The old 4-year rule has been abolished by section 115 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
This is the single most common response — and it’s the one we exist to overcome. We re-frame the case around specific Local Plan policy conflicts and quantified harm. A reasoned planning submission very often turns ‘not expedient’ into a site visit and a Planning Contravention Notice.
Straightforward cases: 6 to 12 months from complaint to compliance. Contested cases with appeals: 2 to 5 years. The work we do up front shaves months off the investigation phase by giving the case officer a ready-made justification to act.
There is no statutory right of appeal against inaction, but you can escalate via the council’s formal complaints procedure, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for maladministration. We handle escalations as part of our complex case service.
Yes — this is one of the most common categories of complaint we handle. We check whether an Article 4 direction applies, whether the use has crossed a threshold requiring permission (e.g. C3 to C4 or sui generis), and whether any planning conditions on the original consent have been broken.
Tell us the address and what’s happening. We’ll check the planning history and tell you honestly whether there’s a case — with no obligation to proceed and your identity protected from the first phone call.
Our core service — bespoke MRTPI-drafted objection letters for live planning applications. From £250.
Shape the policies that will govern your area for the next 15 years. Regulation 19 representations on soundness.