What are Building Regulations?
- Building Regulations and Planning Permission are two different controls.
- Building Regulations make sure your building work is safely constructed.
- Planning Permission is concerned with what your building work looks like.
Your building work may need both Building Regulations and Planning Permission. To check, ring 01803 861234 to speak about Building Regulations or to speak about Planning Permission. Or see the Planning Development Control pages for more information.
Building Regulations are all about helping people to put up buildings that are safe, sound, economical and good to use. They are a set of standards, observed nationally and administered locally by your district council or an approved inspector, covering things like energy conservation, disabled access and the health and safety of people in and about the building. Building Regulations are divided up under the following headings:
- Structural stability
- Fire precautions and means of escape
- Site preparation and damp-proofing
- The use of toxic substances
- Sound-proofing
- Ventilation
- Hygiene
- Drainage and waste disposal
- Heating
- Protection against falls, collisions and impacts
- Fuel efficiency
- Access to and use of buildings
- Safe windows
- Electrical safety
When do I need to make a Building Regulation Application?
You need to make a Building Regulation Application if you want to :
- Erect or extend a building.
- Alter a building in a way that could affect structural stability, fire precautions, fire escapes or disabled access.
- Underpin a building.
- Do any drainage works.
- Change the use of a building. This includes putting sleeping accommodation in a building that has not previously included it, converting a property into flats or turning a property into a public building.
Is there any work that does not need a Building Regulation Application?
Some types of building work are exempt from Building Regulations. For example :
- A small ground floor extension such as a porch, conservatory, covered walkway or a car port providing it doesn’t cover more that 30 square metres.
- A detached building that doesn’t cover more that 30 square metres, has no sleeping accommodation, is sited more than 1 metre from the boundary or is made completely out of non-combustible materials. This includes a garden shed or a garage.
- A detached building to house plant or machinery and not normally used by people.
- An agricultural building that is away from houses and has good means of escape.
- An ancillary building such as a builder’s hut or cabin.
Caution : Before you start work it is best to check with your Building Control Officer to see whether you need to make a Building Regulation Application.
How do I make a Building Regulation Application?
First of all, you need a Building Regulation Application Form
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There are two ways of making a Building Regulation Application. One is called a Full Plans Building Regulation Application and the other is called a Building Notice.
Full Plans Building Regulation Application
Have some plans drawn of the work you propose to do and send them to us with the Building Regulation Application forms. Your Area Building Control Officer will check the plans to make sure they comply with Building Regulations and then send you a Certificate of Approval for the plans. This means that, as long as the work is carried out as shown on the approved plans, it will be accepted by the Building Control Officer when the site is inspected.
Building Notice
If you choose this method, you don’t need to give us any detailed plans, just send us the forms and the Building Control Officer will inspect the work as it is carried out to make sure it meets the standards. The officer will be able to help and advise you as you go along.
Please Note : You can only use a Building Notice if your proposal is for domestic use.
Inspection of Work
Once you have received acknowledgement in writing from us, you can start work. You just need to tell us when you get to certain stages so that we can check the work.
Tell the Building Control Officer :
- When you are ready to start work.
- Before you cover up any foundation excavation, damp proof course or any other material laid over the site.
- Before covering any drain or private sewer.
- After covering any drain or private sewer and back-filling the trench.
- When you finish or before people move in (whichever comes first).
- You can tell us by post, fax or telephone. Please get in touch by 10.30am if you want us to inspect the work the same day.
If you don’t keep us up-to-date on your progress, you might have to open up works so that we can check it’s satisfactory. This takes time and costs you money, so it’s far better to avoid any problem and keep your Building Control Officer fully informed.
Completing the Work
Once the work has been done and your Building Control Officer is satisfied with the standard of work, the Council will issue a Certificate of Completion. This confirms that the work meets the Building Regulation standards. The Certificate is a very important document and will be required should you ever wish to sell your property.
When do I have to pay?
For details of charges
You pay your charge when you make your Building Regulation Application. It costs the same whichever method you use. The Full Plans charge is divided into two.
- The first part – the Plan Charge – is paid when you deposit your plans with the Council. The money goes towards the cost of checking that the plans are up to standard.
- The second part – the Inspection Charge – is paid after the first inspection (we will send an invoice to the owner). This money goes towards the cost of inspecting the site.
The Building Notice Charge is a single sum.
- There is no Plan Charge because we don’t check the plans. The full amount goes towards inspecting the site. This is because the Building Control Officer will need to inspect the work more thoroughly, and this takes longer.
A list of our Charges is attached to our Building Regulation Application form.
Private Approved Inspectors
You can, if you wish, have your building work supervised by a Private Approved Inspector instead of the Council. A Private Approved Inspector must be authorised by the Secretary of State, have the necessary insurance cover, and the Council needs to be informed when an outside inspector is appointed to work within the area. An agreement would be made between the owner and the Private Approved Inspector.
