Building Regulations

What Are the Building Regulations Drawings?

To show that your project follows Building Regulations, you must provide special drawings called Building Regulations drawings for approval by the Building Control. These drawings are vital when creating new buildings or changing existing ones.

Your architect will make these drawings based on technical guidelines found in the Approved Documents. If you follow these guidelines to design your task, it ensures that your building is:

1. Safe for people in and around it.
2. Comfortable and up to the standards required for living.
3. Of a good quality overall.

NOTE: Getting Building Regulations approval differs from Planning Permission. These are two separate sets of rules. Sometimes you might need both approvals, sometimes just one, and sometimes you might not need either.

When Are Building Regulations Not Required?

You don’t need to require Building Regulations for some cases:

1. If you’re building a detached single-story structure that’s smaller than 30 square metres.
2. If you’re building any structure that’s smaller than 15 square metres and doesn’t have bedrooms or a small conservatory extension (less than 30 square metres).
3. If you’re fixing things and using the existing materials, or the same as the existing materials.

What Is Building Regulation Approval?

Building Regulation approval is an official document showing your project follows the required construction and design practices as stipulated under Building Regulations. This is required by the government to make sure buildings are built and designed correctly, meeting the set standards.

Simply put, Building Regulation approval is required for all the new structural work or changes to your premises. A few of the scenarios when you need this approval are:

• Construction of new buildings: This includes both single-dwelling and multi-dwelling buildings.
• Extensions to existing buildings: This includes loft conversions and both rear and side extensions.
• Alterations to existing buildings: This includes changes to the structure, fabric, or use of a building.
• Installation of certain building services: This includes electrical, gas, and heating systems.

NOTE: To get Building Regulations approval, you have two options: choose an authorised inspector or use building control services provided by your local authority.

What Is a Building Notice? When to Have It?

A building notice is like a note that tells Building Control about the work you will do. You give this notice 48 hours before you start the work. This way, you can start quickly without making detailed plans first. Inspections will be done as you go along.

This kind of notice is good for simple projects, like small extensions that follow the rules. But if your project is more complicated, using this notice might not be safe because there’s no guarantee it follows all the Building Regulations.

NOTE: Full plans and building notices last for three years, starting from when you give them to the local authority. If you don’t start the building work within this time, the approval automatically ends.

How to Get a Completion Certificate?

You’ll get a completion certificate once the building is finished and the inspector is happy with it. This is an important paper and should be kept along with the planning permission document.

You might require it if you intend to sell. You’ll also need this certificate to get the last bit of money from lenders, to get the warranty certificate, and to ask for a refund on VAT if it applies.

Remember, you won’t get the completion certificate until the building control officer gets all your certificates and checks the site one last time.