Building Regulations are minimum standards of construction designed to ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of the public is maintained. They are also designed to improve thermal performance of buildings to conserve fuel and power.
The regulations
The current regulations are The Building Regulations 2010 (which came into force on 1st October 2010) and are empowered by The Building Act 1984.
Many types of building work require approval under building regulations, which can be obtained either using the Full Plans process or the Building Notice process. Only a few types of building work are exempt building regulations.
In either case a fee is normally required, based on the type of work to be carried out. Further information is on our fees page
Planning Permission
It should be noted that Building Regulation Approval and Planning Permission are completely separate issues, and that having one approval/permission does not necessarily mean you will not require the other.
Some building work will require building regulation approval but will not require planning permission, yet other work will require planning permission and may not require building regulation approval, whilst a lot of work will require both approvals.
Building Regulation topics and documentation
The Building Regulations cover a number of topics such as structure, fire, moisture resistance, toxic substances, sound, ventilation, water supply and sanitary conveniences, drainage, boilers and chimneys, stairs and ramps, conservation of fuel and power, access for all, safety glazing, electrical work in and around dwellings.
Guidance is given in a number of booklets called the Approved Documents.
