A Brief Guide to Building Regulations in UK

by Amelia White Business Analyst

Building regulations can be best defined as a set of rules for construction and design which apply to modifications of existing structures and new builds. The rules or standards can differ in their gravity and involve consideration of workmanship requirements and materials, structural matters, sound insulation, fire safety, energy conservation, and use of and access to buildings.

Building Regulations vs. Planning Permission

Building regulations carefully analyse the materials and methods used for constructing any particular structure. Planning permission, on the other hand, is used to guide the way the places are developed, appearance of structures, the impact on environment, access to highway and purpose of the construction.

Building Control Regulation Drawings vs. Planning Drawings

Building control regulation drawings have more details embedded in them compared to planning drawings because of the amount of information required for explaining how structures are constructed. A typical building control regulation drawing will include high level detailing and construction notes for demonstrating the proposed methods of development. This additional detail makes pricing a job more easy as well as accurate, which means more precise estimates are obtained from a good set of building regs plans.

Works That Require Building Regulations Approval

Almost every type of construction work require building regulations approval. Typical instances include:

Erecting a new residential structure
Extension or modification of any structure
Change in the purpose of a construction
Internal structural modifications
Loft and garage conversions
Creation of a structural cavity
Installation of wall insulation
Underpinning houses
Installing a water closet

Extensions Exempt From The Regulations

There are some extensions which do not require building regulations approval. They are:

Conservatories
Porches
Covered passages or yards
Carports with 2 or more open sides
Garages, greenhouses or sheds with floor area less than 15 square metres and no accommodation for sleeping
Any construction having floor area between 15 and 30 square metres, situated within a distance of 1 metre from the site boundary and made with non-combustible materials

How To Get An Approval?

There are generally two ways for obtaining a building regulations approval.

A fully planned application should have a completed form, the standard fee and details about how the proposed work will comply with the regulations. Planning drawings may also be included, if available. The application may be either approved with or without conditions, or refused.

The alternative option is known as building notice. It does not require the submission of any plans. But a completed form and the standard fee is necessary.