Claim planning appeal costs
Overview
If your appeal relates to an application dated on or before 31 March 2026, you should use the ‘Planning appeals: procedural guide’ instead.
You can claim costs if someone involved in your planning appeal behaves unreasonably and costs you money.
You make a claim for an ‘award of costs’ to the Planning Inspectorate. If you’re successful, you’ll have to reach an agreement with the other party about how much they pay.
You can be asked to pay costs if you behave unreasonably during your own appeal. The Planning Inspectorate can do this even if nobody’s claiming costs against you.
Deadline to claim for costs
The deadline depends on whether your appeal will be decided:
- at a hearing or inquiry - apply before it closes
- in writing - submit your appeal using the Part 1 procedural guide or apply for a tree preservation order appeal at the same time you lodge your appeal
- in writing for all other appeal types - apply no later than the final comments stage
The deadline is different for claims about:
- a site visit (for example someone did not attend) - apply within 7 days
- a withdrawn appeal or enforcement notice - apply within 4 weeks