Does Your Building Qualify for Class MA?
The Eligibility Criteria Explained

Class MA only applies to buildings with a Class E use. This includes offices, retail shops, restaurants, cafes, gyms, health centres, financial services, and light industrial. If the building has a different use class — such as D1 (faith buildings, community halls, medical centres under the old system) or Class B2 heavy industrial — it does not qualify unless that use was formally reclassified.

This sounds simple but can catch people out. Many commercial buildings in the UK have a use history going back decades. If the building was converted, extended, or used for something else in the past, you may need to confirm what its lawful use actually is. A Certificate of Lawful Use can help establish this with certainty.

The building must have been used for Class E purposes continuously for at least two years immediately before the date of the prior approval application. A building that recently changed to Class E use, or that has had a break in Class E use, may not qualify.

The two-year clock runs backward from the date you apply. If you buy a building that has only been in Class E use for 18 months, you would need to wait before applying — or find a way to evidence earlier Class E use that pre-dates your ownership.

When Class MA was introduced in August 2021, one of the eligibility criteria required the building to have been vacant for at least three continuous months immediately before the application date. This caught people out — if you were buying a building with a sitting tenant, you had to wait three months after they left before you could even apply.

That requirement was removed on 5 March 2024 by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2024 (SI 2024/141). Buildings no longer need to be vacant before a prior approval application is submitted.

Class MA does not apply to listed buildings. If the building is on the statutory list (Grade I, Grade II*, or Grade II), it falls outside the scope of the permitted development right entirely. Any change of use or works to a listed building requires Listed Building Consent, plus full planning permission for change of use.

This is a hard stop — not an amber flag. A building in a conservation area but not itself listed is still potentially eligible, though the local authority may attach conditions about the external appearance.

An Article 4 direction is a local planning authority decision to remove specific permitted development rights from an area or building type. Some councils have introduced Article 4 directions to protect office stock in their areas — particularly in London, Bristol, Manchester, and other major cities — which removes Class MA rights from those buildings.

Article 4 directions are area-specific. A direction in one part of a town may not cover another part. You need to check the council's Article 4 register for the specific address, not just the general area.

Class MA does not apply to buildings on sites within certain protected designations. These include National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), World Heritage Sites, and certain safety hazard or military explosives storage areas.

This affects relatively few commercial buildings in practice — most Class MA opportunities sit in towns and cities rather than protected landscapes — but it is worth confirming, particularly for rural market towns near AONB boundaries.