Building Regulations have to be met on all building work carried out and have been put in place to ensure a minimum standard of quality, taking into account things like safety, security, accessibility and efficiency.
Though building regulations should really fall on the shoulders of the tradesmen undertaking a building project, when it is your home and money that could be affected by regulations not being met, it is certainly worth understanding what is involved as you are also legally responsible.
In order to meet Building Regulations you need to comply with guidance laid out in a set of ‘Approved Documents’ covering expectations across several key areas.
- Structure
- Fire safety
- Site preparation and resistance to contaminates and moisture
- Toxic substances
- Resistance to sound
- Ventilation
- Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency
- Drainage and waste disposal
- Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems
- Protection from falling, collision and impact
- Conservation of fuel and power
- Access to and use of buildings
- Electrical safety
- Security in dwellings
- High speed electronic communications networks
- Material and workmanship
Building Regulations & Building Control
If you are considering a home improvement then there are certain types of work that will need to be permitted and signed off by your local Building Control.
In the first instance you should visit the Planning Portal to find out if you need approval, and what controls to consider at various stages of your project.
Types of Building Control Application
You can apply for building control yourself, or through a professional entity such as your contractors or an architect, and you will need to decide which type of application suits your purposes best.
Full Plan Application
Providing full plans and documentation required before any work begins. You will generally be notified of a decision within 4 to 8 weeks depending on how complex your proposal may be, and how many other authorities need to be involved.
Your decision notice will hopefully come back as a straight approval, but you should also expect Conditional Approvals or requests for your plans to be modified, where you may have to be flexible in your thinking.
Building Notice Application
This is a quicker process than submitting full plans and is suitable for minor works where you are fairly certain that the job will comply with building regulations.
In this scenario you can start work shortly after submitting the application and although you do not need to await a decision, do understand that you will be subject to inspections.
Regularisation Application
For building work carried out and already completed that does not currently have building regulations approval.
Building Control Inspections and Sign Off
Where there are cases that require building control inspections to ensure that building regulations are being met a various sages of the project, it is advised to plan for this and monitor progress to be able to provide as much notice as possible to your local building control service, minimising any potential delays.
Under the Competent Person Scheme there are some types of building work that can be self-certified by tradesmen or installers. Find more information here.
Please be warned that any work that is no signed off or certified as satisfactory could affect the value and sale of your home in the future.
