The LGA wants to end unplanned office-to-residential conversions
The House of Lords has resumed its consideration of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in committee, having begun before the summer recess.
Among the proposals Peers are considering is an amendment tabled by Baroness Thornhill, developed in close partnership with the LGA, that seeks to remove a range of permitted development rights (PDR). These rights currently allow existing buildings, including offices, to be converted to residential use without full planning permission – and, consequently, without the requirement to contribute to social housing.
Permitted development was originally introduced to speed up housing delivery.
After more than a decade of expansion, this route has led to serious unintended consequences: homes of poor quality, the loss of desperately needed affordable housing, and the erosion of local democratic control.
LGA analysis published this month shows that around 28,000 affordable homes have not been delivered since 2013 as a result of office-to-residential conversions under PDR.
More than 110,000 homes have been created through this route, outside the safeguards of the planning system.
Because councils are unable to apply local planning policies, these conversions make no contribution to affordable housing or to local infrastructure (such as roads, schools and community centres), and there is no assurance that homes are climate-resilient, well-designed or suitably located.
The impact could not be more stark. At present, 131,000 households, including a record 169,000 children, are living in temporary accommodation. If the conversions delivered under permitted development had been required to contribute their fair share towards affordable housing, it would have helped house one in every five families currently in temporary accommodation.
Councils also spent £2.3 billion last year on temporary accommodation, resources that should have gone into providing long-term housing solutions.
Concerns about quality are equally pressing. Studies, including those commissioned by government, have consistently found that homes delivered through PDR are more likely to be substandard: smaller, darker and poorly ventilated, often in unsuitable locations, such as industrial estates and business parks. There are people living in flats that would not meet the most basic space or habitability standards had they been subject to the normal planning process.
The amendment reflects the long-standing position of the LGA and is supported by a broad coalition.
An open letter coordinated by the LGA has been signed by 52 organisations and individuals across housing, planning and local government, including Shelter, the National Housing Federation, the Town and Country Planning Association, the Royal Town Planning Institute, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and the G15 group of housing associations.
The letter has been published on the LGA website, reported by the Guardian and shared widely across social media.
The case being made is clear. Permitted development has created a loophole allowing developers to sidestep their responsibilities, leaving councils unable to plan growth, provide infrastructure or secure affordable housing. It undermines local plans and damages public trust in the planning system.
Baroness Thornhill’s amendment does not prohibit conversions. It restores a fair and proper process, one where quality, infrastructure, affordability and community interest are weighed openly and democratically. It is not anti-housing, but pro-housing done well.
As first was going to press in mid-September, the amendment was being debated. The LGA will follow the bill’s progress and provide further updates to councils shortly.
- To find out more about the LGA’s work in Parliament, please visit www.local.gov.uk/parliament