Does the condition stop me letting the house at all?

It restricts the dwelling to use as a main home. Letting it to somebody who occupies it as their main home is usually consistent with that, while holding it as an occasional use second home is not. The wording on your specific decision notice governs.

Does it apply to extensions?

Generally these policies target new dwellings rather than extensions to existing homes, but local wording varies and should be read rather than assumed.

Will a lender still fund it?

Many will, though the condition narrows the resale market and some lenders treat it cautiously. It is worth raising early with a broker who knows Cornish stock.

How do I find out if my parish has adopted one?

The adopted neighbourhood plan for the parish is the source. We check it as part of a feasibility review before any design work begins.

Policy · Cornwall

Second homes and principal residence policy in Cornwall, the condition that changes what a plot is worth

Several Cornish parishes have adopted neighbourhood plan policies restricting new open market housing to principal residence occupation. The policy exists because coastal communities lost too much of their housing stock to occasional use, and it has real consequences for anyone designing, buying or selling a new home in the affected areas. It is not an obscure technicality. It sits on the decision notice as a condition and it runs with the land.

Book a free consultation See built work

Free · No obligation

Ask us about your project

A free first conversation — no obligation, no sales calls.

What a principal residence condition means

In broad terms, the completed dwelling must be occupied as somebody's sole or main home, and the owner may be required to keep evidence available to the council on request. It does not prevent letting a room, working away or holidaying. It does prevent the house being held purely as a second home, and it affects who can buy it later, which is why lenders and conveyancers take an interest.

The condition attaches to the planning permission, not to the current owner
It usually applies to new dwellings rather than to extensions of existing homes
Policies are adopted parish by parish, so the position changes across a short distance
Evidence of occupation is commonly required to be kept and produced on request

Check the parish before you commit

Because these policies sit in neighbourhood plans, two plots ten minutes apart can be treated completely differently. Before an offer on a plot, or before designing a scheme around a particular sales assumption, read the adopted neighbourhood plan for that parish alongside the Cornwall wide policy framework. The same check is worth doing when buying a house that was itself built under such a condition.

How it interacts with holiday letting

Principal residence policy and holiday let control are related but separate. Using an existing dwelling as a short term let can raise its own change of use questions depending on intensity and impact, while a principal residence condition addresses who lives there as their main home. A scheme intended for letting income needs both questions answered honestly at the design stage rather than after completion.

Designing with the policy rather than against it

Where the policy applies, the successful applications are usually those that read as year round homes: sensible storage, a workable utility, parking for residents rather than for a rotating holiday population, and a relationship to the village that suggests permanence. That is not a trick, it is simply designing for the occupant the consent requires.

Frequently asked

Straight answers.

Does the condition stop me letting the house at all?: It restricts the dwelling to use as a main home. Letting it to somebody who occupies it as their main home is usually consistent with that, while holding it as an occasional use second home is not. The wording on your specific decision notice governs.
Does it apply to extensions?: Generally these policies target new dwellings rather than extensions to existing homes, but local wording varies and should be read rather than assumed.
Will a lender still fund it?: Many will, though the condition narrows the resale market and some lenders treat it cautiously. It is worth raising early with a broker who knows Cornish stock.
How do I find out if my parish has adopted one?: The adopted neighbourhood plan for the parish is the source. We check it as part of a feasibility review before any design work begins.

Buying a plot in a coastal parish?

Send us the address before you commit. We will tell you which local policies attach to it and how they shape what can be built.

Free · No obligation

Book your free consultation

Tell us about your project — we usually reply within 2 hours (working day).