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Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy

The Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL1) was introduced in 2012 to help finance The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail), the major rail link that connects central London to Reading and Heathrow in the West and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the East.

In February 2019 the Mayor adopted a new charging schedule (MCIL2). The new charges took effect on 1 April 2019 and supersede the MCIL1 charging schedule and the associated Crossrail Funding SPG (applicable in central London, the northern part of the Isle of Dogs and within 1km of a Crossrail station for the rest of London). The MCIL2 charges apply to all planning permissions granted from 1 April 2019 and may also apply to some phased planning permissions granted before 1 April 2019. MCIL will be used to repay Elizabeth Line financing.

Prior to adoption, the MCIL2 charging schedule went through of two rounds of public consultation and an independent Examination in Public (EiP). Further details of the EiP including the Examiner’s report are provided on the MCIL2 EiP webpage.

How MCIL Works

MCIL is calculated on the net additional floorspace, measured in square metres of Gross Internal Area. Note that there are exceptions - for example floorspace for medical or education purposes have a nil charge, and relief and exemptions from CIL are also available for some types of development such as affordable housing, self-build housing and developments by charitable organisations for charitable purposes following approval by the collecting authority.

Local planning authorities in London are responsible for calculating the MCIL charge and collecting MCIL payments on behalf of the Mayor. The charge is calculated once a planning application is submitted to the local planning authority. MCIL is payable when work on the new development commences and for major developments with a large CIL liability, the payment can be made in instalments (see instalments policy below).

MCIL Charging Rates

The MCIL1 and MCIL2 charging rates are set out below in Tables 1-3. For further information on the charging schedules and the Crossrail funding SPG, please view the documents:

MCIL1

The MCIL1 charging rates are set out in Table 1 below. The MCIL1 rates apply to planning permissions granted between 1 April 2012 and the 31 March 2019, with the exception of some phased planning permissions that may be liable under MCIL2.

Table 1: MCIL 1 charging rates

Zone London boroughs

Rates

(£ per sq.m)
1 Camden, City of London, City of Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond-upon-Thames, Wandsworth £50
2 Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets £35
3 Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Croydon, Enfield, Havering, Newham, Sutton, Waltham Forest £20
Use

Rate

(£ per sq.m)
Development used wholly or mainly for the provision of any medical or health services except the use of premises attached to the residence of the consultant or practitioner Nil
Development used wholly or mainly for the provision of education as a school or college under the Education Acts or as an institution of higher education Nil

MCIL 2

The MCIL2 charging rates are set out in Tables 2 and 3 below. The MCIL2 rates will apply to all planning permissions granted from 1 April 2019 and may also apply to some phased planning permissions granted before the 1 April 2019.

Table 2: MCIL2 charging rates for all development in London1

Zone London boroughs

Rates from 1 April 2019

(£ per sq.m)
1 Camden, City of London, City of Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond-upon-Thames, Wandsworth £80
2 Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) £60
3 Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Croydon, Greenwich, Havering, Newham, Sutton £25
Use

Rate

(£ Per sq.m)
Development used wholly or mainly for the provision of any medical or health services except the use of premises attached to the residence of the consultant or practitioner Nil
Development used wholly or mainly for the provision of education as a school or college under the Education Acts or as an institution of higher education Nil

1 Except for the rates for office, retail and hotel in Central London and the Isle of Dogs (see Table 2), and for health and education in all of Greater London (see Table 3)

Table 3: MCIL2 charging rates for office, retail and hotel in Central London and Isle of Dogs2

Land use

MCIL2 rate from 1 April 2019

(£ per sq.m)
Office 185
Retail 165
Hotel 140

2 Office is defined as any office use including offices that fall within Class B1 Business of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended, or any other order altering, amending or varying that Order. Uses that are analogous to offices which are sui generis, such as embassies, will be treated as offices.

Retail is defined as all uses that fall within Classes A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended, or any other order altering, amending or varying that Order, and related sui generis uses including retail warehouse clubs, car showrooms, launderette.

Hotel means any hotel use including apart-hotels uses that fall within Class C1 Hotel of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended.

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will cease its function as local planning authority from midnight on 30 November 2024 and return its planning powers, and CIL charging and collecting functions, to the London Boroughs: Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. From 1 December 2024, the adopted MCIL2 Charging Schedule will continue to apply to developments which take place within the LLDC area as defined in the MCIL2 Charging Schedule map but will be collected by the relevant borough.

MCIL Mapping Tool

To help local planning authorities and developers, the MCIL2 charge rates across London can be viewed on this interactive map.

The MCIL2 maps and shape files are also available in the GLA Datastore, or viewed in the Good Growth section of the Planning Data Map.

Annual CIL Rate Summary

Please note that MCIL rates are indexed in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and therefore they will alter depending on the year planning permission is granted. For CIL liable planning permissions granted in the calendar year 2025, applicable Mayoral CIL rates adjusted for inflation are detailed in the MCIL Annual CIL Rate Summary 2025.

Annual CIL rate summaries for previous years are detailed below:

MCIL Instalments Policy

The Mayor introduced a first CIL instalments policy, which was effective from 1 April 2013. From the 1 January 2018, a new instalments policy superseded the first instalments policy. The new instalments policy lowered the threshold from which instalments can be applied from £500,000 to £100,000. The instalments policy is set out in the table below:

Table 4: MCIL Instalments Policy

Amount of CIL liability Number of instalment payments Amount or proportion of CIL payable in any instalment/time at which payments are due
£100,000 or less no instalments total amount payable within 60 days of commencement of development
£100,001 or more two
  • the greater of £100,000 or half the value of the total amount payable within 60 days of commencement of development
  • the remainder within 240 days of commencement of development

CIL Enforcement Procedures

The Community Infrastructure Levy is applied to most forms of development. It would be unfair for some to pay the CIL while others, who should pay, do not.

The CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended) set out the financial and penal consequences of trying to avoid paying the CIL.

A summary of the CIL enforcement procedures is set out in the document below:

Interaction with other Planning Obligations

MCIL is used specifically to fund The Elizabeth Line. It is separate to local Community Infrastructure Levies (CILs) which may be set and implemented by each local planning authority to raise funds for local infrastructure projects.

Developers may also be required to enter into a section 106 agreement, under which mitigation is sought to offset negative impacts caused by the development. Typical examples include the provision of affordable housing and local transport improvements. More information is available on the Government's Planning Practice Guidance site.

Reviewing MCIL and MCIL Collected to Date

In adopting MCIL the Mayor agreed to review it every two years. Since adoption of MCIL, three reviews have taken place in December 2014, February 2017 and February 2023. These documents can be viewed here:

The amount of money collected each financial year and transferred to Transport for London (TfL) by each collecting authority is shown in the document below. The total sums shown in the table are after administrative fees have been applied by the collecting authorities.

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