For landlords, tenants and buyers of commercial space
Class E Use Class Explained: What It Covers and What It Doesn't
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 6 min read
The short answer
Class E is England's Commercial, Business and Service use class. Shops, cafés, offices, gyms, clinics, nurseries and light industry sit in one class, so a unit can switch between them without planning permission.
- Pubs, takeaways, cinemas and live music venues are outside Class E.
- A planning condition or Section 106 can switch the freedom off.
- Physical works, Building Regulations, licensing and the lease still apply.
- Turning Class E space into homes needs prior approval or full planning.
Class E is the use class that most London shops, cafés and offices sit in. It was created to let high streets change faster. A shop can become a clinic, and an office floor can become a gym, without a planning application.
That freedom is real, but it has edges. Pubs and takeaways sit outside it. A planning condition can switch it off. Turning Class E space into homes is a different question altogether. Planning a new use for a unit? Book a site visit and we will check what it really needs.
What the Class E use class includes
Class E was created on 1 September 2020, when the Use Classes Order was rewritten. It replaced the old A1, A2, A3 and B1 classes and parts of D1 and D2. The law splits it into lettered parts, which you will see on decision notices and leases.
| Part | Use | Typical examples | Old class |
|---|---|---|---|
| E(a) | Display or retail sale of goods, other than hot food | Shops, showrooms | A1 |
| E(b) | Food and drink mostly consumed on the premises | Cafés, restaurants | A3 |
| E(c)(i) | Financial services | Bank branches | A2 |
| E(c)(ii) | Professional services, not health or medical | Estate agents, solicitors | A2 |
| E(c)(iii) | Other services suited to a commercial area | Hairdressers, beauty salons | A1 or A2 |
| E(d) | Indoor sport, recreation or fitness | Gyms, studios | D2 |
| E(e) | Medical or health services | Clinics, dentists | D1 |
| E(f) | Crèche, day nursery or day centre | Nurseries | D1 |
| E(g)(i) | Offices for operational or administrative functions | Offices of any size | B1(a) |
| E(g)(ii) | Research and development | Labs, R&D space | B1(b) |
| E(g)(iii) | Industrial processes suited to a residential area | Light industry, makers' space | B1(c) |
The E(g) uses share one test. The use must be possible in a residential area without harming amenity through noise, smell, fumes or dust. E(d) excludes motorised vehicles, firearms, swimming pools and skating rinks.
What is not in Class E
Several common town-centre uses were left out in 2020. They became "sui generis", a class of their own. Changing to or from them needs planning permission:
- pubs, wine bars and other drinking establishments
- hot food takeaways
- cinemas, concert halls, live music venues, dance halls and bingo halls
- nightclubs and betting shops
Other uses sit in neighbouring classes. Class F.1 covers schools, galleries, museums, libraries and places of worship. Class F.2 covers community halls, swimming pools and a small local shop. That shop must be no more than 280 m², with no similar shop within 1,000 metres. Homes are Class C3 and hotels C1.
Moving between Class E uses without planning permission
A change from one Class E use to another is not "development". So it does not need planning permission. A bank can become a clinic, and an office floor a gym, without an application.
A unit can also hold more than one Class E use at once, or switch between them over time. That suits landlords letting to mixed operators. But no planning permission does not mean no consents.
| Still needed | When it bites |
|---|---|
| Planning permission for physical works | New shopfronts, flues, external plant, some signs, extensions |
| Building Regulations | Fire separation, escape, ventilation, access, drainage and acoustics for the new use |
| Listed building consent | Any works that affect a listed building, inside or out |
| Licensing | Alcohol, late-night refreshment and entertainment |
| The lease | Most commercial leases have their own user clause |
| Environmental health | Kitchens: extraction, odour and noise control |
On Savile Row we refitted Drake's flagship store while it kept trading. The work was a new shopfront, bespoke timber fixtures and lighting in 120 sq m, over 12 weeks. The use never changed. The works still had to be planned around consents, neighbours and a shop that could not close.
We used Craftex for a shop-to-flat conversion in Chelsea — turning an old retail space into two rental units. Access wasn’t the easiest, but the guys handled it well, no drama. Quote was clear, no hidden extras, and they actually stuck to it, which is rare. Finish came out solid, exactly what we needed for rentals. Joe (PM) kept things ticking and communication was always on point. All in all, smooth job — would use them again for sure.👍
Same use class, very different buildings
The use class treats a shop and a clinic as interchangeable. The building does not. These are Class E uses of the kind our team has fitted out, and what each one asked of the building.
| Use type | Craftex project | Size and programme | What drove the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop, E(a) | Drake's, Savile Row | 120 sq m, 12 weeks | Trading throughout, shopfront, joinery |
| Restaurant, E(b) | Aunties, Seven Sisters | 83.35 m², 4 weeks | Kitchen, zoning, refrigeration |
| Beauty and spa | Medusa, Knightsbridge | 180 sq m on 4 floors, 17 weeks | Strip-out, M&E across four floors |
| Gym, E(d) | Banbury gym, Oxfordshire | 86 sq m, 4 weeks | Layout, M&E, equipment |
| Health, E(e) | Macmillan Cancer Care Centre, London | 2,100 m², 7 months | Hygiene, accessibility, clinical areas |
| Offices, E(g)(i) | Portsoken House, Aldgate | 1,550 m², 7 months | Full M&E, occupied building |
A shop-to-clinic change can need far more mechanical and drainage work than the use class suggests. Read the projects: Aunties, Medusa, Banbury gym and Macmillan Cancer Care Centre.
When Class E freedom does not apply
The freedom only works if nothing on the site restricts it. Four things commonly do.
- Planning conditions. A permission can limit the use to one part of Class E, for example "office use only". Then you need permission, or a successful application to vary the condition, before changing use.
- Section 106 agreements. An obligation can restrict uses too, often to protect affordable workspace or a shop frontage. Obligations run with the land.
- Uses that never became Class E. If the lawful use is a pub or a takeaway, Class E freedom does not apply at all. London councils often protect pubs in their local plans.
- Unclear lawful use. If the history is unclear, a certificate of lawful use is the formal way to settle it. Most breaches become immune from enforcement after ten years.
Always read the original permission and every later one, not just the current lease.
Class E to residential is a separate question
Turning a Class E building into homes is a change of use outside the class. It always needs prior approval or full planning permission. The two routes have very different tests.
- Permitted development, Class MA. A prior approval application covering a fixed list of matters, such as transport, flooding, noise and natural light. The use must have been Class E for two continuous years. Article 4 directions remove the right in many parts of central London. Our permitted development and prior approval team checks this first.
- Full planning permission. The whole development plan applies, including London Plan housing standards. Bigger schemes also face affordable housing. Our change of use service covers this route.
Every new home must meet minimum space standards. We explain them in our guide to nationally described space standards for flats.
Seven checks before you buy or re-let a Class E building
- Read every planning permission on the site, including conditions on use or hours.
- Check for Section 106 agreements and the restrictions they carry.
- Confirm the lawful use from the history, rates records and occupation.
- Check the Article 4 map for the exact address if homes are part of the plan.
- Match the building to the use: floor loading, extraction, drainage, ceiling height and daylight.
- List every external change and check which needs permission.
- Price the fit-out against the new use, not the old one.
Change of use and occupied buildings often go together in London. At Portsoken House in Aldgate, we turned a former warehouse into offices while the rest of the building stayed let. We worked nights and weekends to do it.
For the wider picture on reusing commercial buildings, read the future of commercial to residential conversions in London. Have a unit in mind? Book a site visit and we will check the use, the consents and the building on site.
