Planning Circular 2/2022 The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022

12. Fees for applications for certificates of lawful use or development

12.1.1 Certificates of Lawful Use or Development provide a mechanism for establishing the planning status of land, i.e. whether an existing or proposed use or development is lawful for planning purposes. Anyone (not just a person with an interest in the land) can apply to a planning authority for a decision on whether a specified existing or proposed use, operational development, or failure to comply with a planning condition or limitation, which has already been carried out on land, is lawful for planning purposes. Each application lodged with a planning authority must be accompanied by the appropriate fee as prescribed in the Regulations. There are certain exceptions, exemptions and maximum charges prescribed in the Regulations, but fees are payable in respect of applications regardless of the fact that the subject matter of the application may prove to be lawful for any reason.

12.2 Certificates of lawfulness of existing use or development

12.2.1 An application to ascertain whether any existing use of buildings or other land is lawful and/or if any operations which have been carried out in, on or over land are lawful the fee is the amount that would be payable in respect of an application for planning permission to institute the use or carry out the operations specified in the application (or an application to do both, as the case may be).

12.2.2 An application for any other matter constituting a failure to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted is lawful the fee is £300.

12.3 Certificates of lawfulness for proposed use or development

12.3.1 An application to ascertain whether any proposed use of buildings or other land is lawful or if any operations which are proposed to be carried out in, on or over land would be lawful the fee is half the amount that would be payable in respect of an application for planning permission to institute the use or carry out the operations specified in the application (or an application to do both, as the case may be).

12.3.2 Where the proposed use specified is use as one or more separate dwellinghouses the fee is £600 for each dwellinghouse, subject to a maximum of £150,000.