Building Regulations

Building Regulations are a set of minimum standards that need to be interpreted and applied correctly for the design, construction and alterations to existing buildings and new buildings. Building Regulations approval is different from Planning Permission and you might need both. The Building Regulations are supported by a set of approved documents which set out detailed practical guidance on compliance with the regulations.

A copy of the Approved Documents can be found on the Planning Portal.

In order to comply with the Building Regulations, you will need to either make a Full Plans Application or a Building Notice Application. A Full Plans Application will require a fully detailed set of construction drawings, calculations and supporting documents prior to construction work commencing. The detailed set of construction information will need to show compliance with the Building Regulations in full and are examined and checked by the Building Control Inspector and are either Approved, Approved with Conditions or Refused. They will only be refused if they do not meet the technical requirements of the Building Regulations.

A Building Notice application does not require the submission of a detailed set of construction information as described above. The Building Notice method is designed for smaller scale and less complicated construction works, or where you need to get construction work underway quickly. Under a Building Notice there is no pre-approval of Construction Information and you rely solely on the Main Contractor/Builder to build the works in accordance with the Building Regulations technical guidance.

For both methods of compliance as described above, once construction works commences they will be subject to regular site inspections by the Building Control Inspector at different stages of the project. This is to check that the minimum standards meet the Building Regulations and that a Completion Certificate can be provided once the construction work has been completed by the Main Contractor/Builder.

You can either use the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) body for your Building Regulations application or use an independent Approved Inspector. Approved Inspectors provide an alternative to obtaining Building Regulations approval from a Local Authority.