How to check planning permission and property history

Try current and former addresses

Try the house number and street, the postcode and any former house name. For a converted building, search the original address as well as the flat number. A plot sold from a larger property may still appear under the parent site.

Start in application search, then use the authority directory to reach the official register. Record which searches you ran and whether older files are available online. An empty search does not confirm that no applications exist.

Sort applications by date

Create a simple list: reference, proposal, application type, decision, date and source link. Look for revised schemes and applications connected to earlier permissions. Keep withdrawn and refused proposals in the list so you do not mistake their drawings for an approval.

Then compare the record with what you saw at the viewing. Does the extension look broadly like the approved plan? Is the loft room part of the scheme you found, or are you looking at plans for a ground-floor extension? Note questions rather than trying to settle uncertain points yourself.

Save decision notices and approved drawings

Save the decision notices and relevant approved drawings, with their reference numbers. If a notice mentions later approval of details, search for the related record. Our guide to reading an application helps separate the main documents from the rest.

Online research helps you ask better questions; it does not replace conveyancing searches or an assessment of the property. Give your conveyancer the references and explain the mismatch or missing document you have noticed. “I found this plan, but the roof looks different” is a useful starting point.

Check neighbouring sites

Search nearby streets and obvious development sites as well as the house itself. Include the access road and land behind the garden. Use the council’s map search where available, especially for sites without a postal address.

Keep nearby proposals in a separate list from the property’s own history. That prevents an application next door being treated as part of the seller’s paperwork.

Finish with an “unanswered questions” list: records not found, files not online and differences between drawings and the building. Check PlanningTrack’s coverage and tell your adviser which sources you used. Flag missing records so your adviser knows what still needs checking.

List alterations you want to check

A property search works best when it is connected to what you have seen and what you intend to do. Before collecting references, list the features that raise questions: an extension, loft room, outbuilding, conversion, access or a change in how part of the property is used. Add any alterations described in the sale particulars, but treat the description as a starting point for enquiries rather than documentary proof.

Separate existing features from your own future plans. You might be researching whether an extension appears in the record while also wondering whether another alteration would be possible. Those are different questions. An old approval can help explain history, but it does not by itself establish the planning position of a new scheme you would like to build.

Make a simple sketch or annotated viewing note showing which part of the building each question concerns. It need not be measured or professional. Its purpose is to stop conversations drifting between different rooms, roof areas or garden structures. If you share photographs with an adviser, identify the viewpoint and the feature you want them to consider.

Keep the scope realistic. Online research can identify records, documents and gaps, but it does not replace conveyancing searches, a survey or professional advice about compliance. The useful outcome is a clear set of evidence and questions that supports those processes. Avoid trying to turn a weekend of browsing into a definitive legal assessment of the property.

Search old names, plot descriptions and parent addresses

A building’s current postal address may be newer than some of its planning history. Search former house names if you know them, and try the street without the number. For a flat, look for the address of the original building. For a property created from a larger site, investigate whether older applications were recorded against the parent property or a plot description.

Do not assume that every address variation refers to the same land. Use location plans and descriptions to check the match. A similarly named building farther along the road can produce a convincing but irrelevant result. Keep uncertain matches in a separate list until you have enough evidence to connect them to the property.

If the council website has a map search, use it to cross-check the text results. Look around the actual site, including access roads and adjacent land. Read any filters that limit the map to recent or selected applications. A marker may help you find a reference, but its point location should not be treated as a precise statement of the application boundary.

Record which variations you tried. This makes a missing result easier to discuss with the authority or conveyancer. “I searched the current number, former house name and the parent building address” describes a research process. “There is nothing online” leaves the reader unable to tell whether the problem is a genuine archive gap or an overly narrow search.

List applications by date and outcome

Create a row for each relevant application with reference, proposal, application type, decision, date and source link. Add a brief note explaining its relationship to the property. Keep refused and withdrawn cases in the chronology because their documents can otherwise be mistaken for approvals when you return to the file later.

Next, identify explicit connections between records. A later submission may refer to an earlier permission or a particular condition. Record that link using the source wording where possible. If you infer a relationship from similar descriptions, label it as an inference. This prevents a plausible guess from becoming an unquestioned part of the property’s history.

Avoid counting every row as a separate physical alteration. Several records can concern one project at different stages. Equally, one application can cover several elements of work. The chronology should explain what each record concerns rather than merely produce a large number that looks like a complete history.

Use dates consistently. A received date, decision date and document upload date are different milestones. For the history of decisions, the decision date will usually be the relevant starting point, but retain other dates if they explain the sequence. The status guide helps distinguish stages and outcomes when the labels are confusing.

Compare approved drawings with your viewing notes

Begin with the decision notice and the plans it identifies. Put those drawings beside your viewing notes and compare the relevant features. Work through one area at a time: footprint, roof form, openings, internal arrangement where shown and relationship with outside space. Do not assume that an existing drawing in a later application proves that every feature shown was previously approved.

Look for clear differences and write them as observations. “The approved rear elevation shows one opening where the viewing photograph appears to show two” is a question your adviser can investigate. Avoid jumping immediately to a conclusion about whether the difference is unlawful, immaterial or covered by another approval you have not yet found.

Measurements need care. A sales plan, photograph and planning drawing may have different purposes and levels of detail. Do not calculate compliance by measuring a screenshot with an on-screen ruler. If a dimension matters to a professional assessment, obtain a reliable measurement and identify the source. The aim of your initial comparison is to spot issues worth checking.

Keep original documents alongside any annotations. Use drawing numbers and revision letters in your notes so that another person can find the same evidence. If you send a marked-up plan, make clear which marks are yours. This avoids confusion when the file passes between buyer, agent, surveyor and conveyancer.

Find applications related to planning conditions

Read conditions in the main decision notice and note any that are relevant to your question. Some conditions concern details or requirements at particular stages. If a later approval of details is mentioned, search for the corresponding record and read what was actually approved. Do not assume the existence of one later application resolves every condition attached to the original permission.

Create a condition tracker only for the items relevant to your research, unless your adviser asks for a fuller review. Include the condition number, requirement, related reference and the evidence you found. Leave a visible gap where you have not found the later decision. An empty evidence cell is more honest and useful than a tick based on a vague assurance.

If a document is missing online, ask the appropriate professional how to obtain or verify it. A missing search result does not prove non-compliance, and a verbal explanation may not answer a documentary enquiry. Your role in the research is to identify the issue clearly and supply the references, not to decide the legal consequences without advice.

For English permissions, the post-approval guide explains how to read conditions and organise related records. If the property is elsewhere in the UK, check the relevant procedures. Similar wording in a register does not remove differences between planning systems or establish which process applies to a particular record.

Worked example: a house with an extension and loft room

Imagine a fictional house advertised as having a rear extension and converted loft. Your search finds an approved extension, a withdrawn roof proposal and a later certificate application. Resist the temptation to combine those into a single statement that all the work is approved. Each reference needs to be read for the development and outcome it actually describes.

Open the extension’s decision notice and approved drawings first. Compare them with the visible extension, noting any differences you need explained. Then read the withdrawn roof application as history, keeping its drawings separate. A withdrawn design may look similar to the current roof, but that visual resemblance does not establish its planning status.

Next, inspect the certificate record and its decision. Identify the exact works or use described and the drawings or evidence it refers to. Do not assume that a certificate with the same address covers every alteration on the property. Where you need advice about its meaning, give your conveyancer the actual document and explain which feature you are asking about.

Your research note can now make a useful distinction: you found evidence concerning the extension, a withdrawn proposal concerning the roof and a separate certificate requiring interpretation. List the unresolved questions rather than forcing all three records into a green or red answer. That gives your advisers a precise starting point for further enquiries.

Check surrounding land separately

A property’s own planning file does not tell you everything about nearby proposals. Search adjoining plots, land behind the garden and the routes used to reach the property. If a larger site is nearby, look for its actual name or access address rather than assuming it will appear under the nearest residential postcode.

Keep neighbouring proposals in a separate table. Record location, reference, current status and why the proposal matters to your research. This avoids accidentally treating an application next door as part of the seller’s property history. It also makes it easier to distinguish a specific live proposal from a general concern about future development in the area.

Read the site boundary and current scheme before making a judgement. A large development description may cover land farther away than you first assumed, while a modest description may concern a site immediately beside the house. Use the documents to establish the relationship. Headlines and map pins alone are not enough to assess a proposal’s position.

If you are interested in policy allocations or other matters beyond individual applications, use the authority’s current official planning information and ask your advisers which searches are appropriate. Do not assume an application search is designed to answer every land-use question. Naming the limits of the search helps you avoid a false sense of completeness.

Give your advisers questions they can investigate

A helpful handover begins with the property address and a short description of the concern. Attach or link the relevant record, identify the drawing or condition and explain what appears unclear. “Please advise whether this certificate addresses the loft works shown in the viewing photographs” is more actionable than forwarding ten PDFs with no explanation.

Keep planning documents separate from other approvals and property paperwork. Different professionals may need to consider different aspects of the evidence. A document’s presence in a sale pack does not mean it answers every regulatory or private-rights question about the work. Ask the relevant adviser what it establishes and what further information they need.

Track responses and outstanding enquiries in one place. Record who is dealing with each question and what evidence would resolve it. Avoid treating “seller asked” as equivalent to “satisfactory evidence received”. A clear tracker helps you see whether the issue is awaiting a document, interpretation or a further decision about the purchase.

Before relying on your research at a later stage, check the official register again for relevant updates. Keep the date of that check in your file and preserve any important new reference. Property research is most useful when it remains traceable: another person should be able to see what you checked, what it showed and which questions were still open.

• Search current and historical address variations, then verify boundaries.
• Keep approvals, refusals, withdrawals and certificates distinct in the chronology.
• Compare identified drawings with observed features without guessing legal conclusions.
• Give your conveyancer and surveyor precise references, documents and unanswered questions.

Should I contact the council about a missing approval?

If your research is part of a purchase, discuss the missing item with your conveyancer before deciding how to pursue it. Explain exactly what you searched and which document you could not find. Your adviser can identify the appropriate enquiry and consider it alongside the wider transaction. A casual question framed as a conclusion about unauthorised work may not reflect the evidence you actually have.

Prepare the useful facts: address, application reference where known, the feature involved and the documents already located. Avoid assuming that a missing online record proves either a problem or an exemption. There may be another reference, a different archive or a question about the scope of an existing document. Keep advice and responses with your research note. This lets the purchase enquiries proceed from a shared account of what is known rather than from several people making different assumptions about the same gap.