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Planning Research Matters

Project: Health impacts of housing created through permitted development rules

Research published 2024

Lead researchers & institution:

Professor Ben Clifford, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL)*

Dr Helen Pineo, formerly at the Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, (UCL)*, now at University of Washington

With Professor Rob Aldridge and Dr Max Eyre, both formerly at the Institute of Health Informatics (UCL)*, now at University of Washington and LSHTM

* RTPI-accredited planning school

Funding

Funded by Impact on Urban Health

 

NOTE: Findings and recommendations reflect the views of the researchers at the time of writing and are not necessarily the views of the RTPI

 

Key takeaways

This exploratory study identified 3,206 housing units created under England’s permitted development (PD) rules, with approval granted from 2013 to 2019, in four London boroughs. The researchers surveyed and interviewed residents and found that:

  • among survey participants, lower wellbeing scores were associated with lack of residential space, no accommodation cooling options, reduced local amenities and low perceived safety
  • 14% of the survey cohort reported not having a single window that they could open
  • a deregulated approach to building conversion has led to housing quality problems that are likely to affect residents’ health and wellbeing

Tufton House, housing converted in London from a non-residential building under PD rules (Pineo et al, 2024)

York House, housing converted in London from a non-residential building under PD rules (Pineo et al, 2024)

Summary

Since 1947 permitted development (PD) rules in England have allowed minor extensions to homes and buildings without requiring a planning application. Since 2013 these PDRs have been expanded to allow non-residential buildings such as offices and other commercial buildings to be converted to housing without the need for a planning application. This limits the local planning authority’s ability to determine the principle of development or regulate the design (and so quality) of the scheme. At the time of the PD expansion the government’s impact assessment did not consider the health and wellbeing impacts on residents.

The small-scale exploratory study sought to fill the knowledge gap on the health impacts and inequalities associated with housing converted under these PD rules. It was undertaken in four London Boroughs as an ongoing discrete pilot research project.

Greater London has a particularly large number of PD conversions with over 18,000 new housing units created in this way from 2015-2020 alone. For this pilot project, the researchers used a survey and interviews to study the health impacts on residents living in buildings that had been converted to housing under PD rules. The researchers sought to understand what residents themselves feel are the health and well-being impacts of living in these homes, in the London Boroughs of Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lambeth and Southwark.

The pilot is now being followed-up by a larger UCL PD Converted Housing Project. Funded by NIHR and led by the same researchers, the findings of this England-wide study, looking at the health and wellbeing impacts of living in housing created under PD, will be published in 2026.

Recommendations - housing delivers better health and well-being by:

  • having sufficient space in the accommodation
  • having a home where thermal comfort could be assured year-round
  • having fresh air, ventilation, and windows allowing in sufficient natural light and a view
  • not having excessive levels of noise from neighbours and the street
  • having access to open or greenspace
  • living in walkable neighbourhoods with good access to local amenities
  • living in a home in which you feel safe

Full reference

Pineo, H., Clifford, B., Eyre, M. and Aldridge, R. W. (2024) ‘Health and wellbeing impacts of housing converted from non-residential buildings: A mixed-methods exploratory study in London, UK.’ in Wellbeing, Space and Society, Volume 6, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2024.100192.

Link to the report

An exploratory study investigating  the health and wellbeing impacts of housing created through permitted development in London

Linked research and related outputs

This study is now being followed-up by a larger UCL PD Converted Housing Project.

Callway, R., Roscoe, S. L., Thrift, J. and Ellis, H. (TCPA), with Clifford, B. (UCL) (2024) Permitted development, housing and health: a review of national policy and regulations Has the expansion of permitted development in planning in England affected the health impacts of housing? Permitted development, housing and health: a review of national policy and regulations

Clifford, B., Canelas, P., Ferm, J. and Livingstone, N. (UCL) with Lord, A. and Dunning, R. (University of Liverpool) (2020) Research into the quality standard of homes delivered through change of use permitted development rights. MHCLG. Research into the quality standard of homes delivered through change of use permitted development rights