Class MA is a permitted development right in England that lets many commercial premises in use class E - shops, offices, cafes, restaurants, gyms, clinics and light industrial - be converted to residential (class C3) without a full planning application, subject to a prior-approval application to the council. Since March 2024 the previous 1,500 sqm floorspace cap and the three-month-vacancy requirement were removed, widening what qualifies.
What Class MA actually is
Class MA (part 3, class MA of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, as amended) grants the change of use from Commercial, Business and Service (use class E) to dwellinghouses (class C3). It replaced the older office-to-resi right (class O) and extended it across the whole of the E use class. It applies in England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regimes.
What changed in March 2024
- The 1,500 sqm floorspace limit was removed - larger units now qualify.
- The requirement that the building had been vacant for three continuous months was removed.
- The requirement that the commercial use had been in place for two years still applies.
- The result: far more of the high-street and secondary-office stock is now in scope, which is why distressed commercial owners with E-class buildings are a live conversion opportunity.
Prior approval is not a rubber stamp
Class MA is not a full planning application, but you must apply to the local authority for prior approval. The council can only consider a defined list of matters - flooding, contamination, transport/highways impact, noise from commercial neighbours, adequate natural light to all habitable rooms, the provision of services, and in some cases the impact on a conservation area or an intended commercial-to-residential loss in a designated area. It cannot refuse on general planning-policy grounds. Article 4 directions can remove the right in specific areas, so always check the local position.
Where it does not apply
- Listed buildings and scheduled monuments.
- Article 4 direction areas (many town centres have them - check the council's map).
- Certain safety-hazard, military and AONB/national-park contexts.
- Uses that were never in class E (for example, pure B2 general industrial or B8 storage are not class E and are not covered by Class MA - a common misconception).
How to find Class MA candidates before they list
The opportunity is a use-class-E building whose owner is under pressure to sell. That means joining two things the portals do not: what the building is (a shop, office or light-industrial unit) and whether the owner is distressed (a charge, a winding-up petition, a receiver, overdue accounts). DealBrief scores property-owning companies on those distress signals and surfaces the owner before a listing exists - so you can assess Class MA potential and approach compliantly while the asset is still off-market.
This is a general explainer, not planning or legal advice. Permitted development rights change and are subject to local conditions - always confirm the current position with the local planning authority and a planning professional before acting.