What are Building Regulations?

What is their purpose and what do they cover?

Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health for people, including those with disabilities in or about those buildings and to help conserve fuel and power.

To help people to comply with them the Government produces Approved Documents which offer guidance and show ways of achieving compliance.

• LABC video explaining what building control is and how the building regulations help you

If you want to put up a new building, extend or alter an existing one, or provide fittings such as drains or heat-producing appliances, the Building Regulations will probably apply. They may also apply if you wish to put an existing building to a different use. Building Regulation approval is completely separate from planning permission. If you get one, it does not mean you will automatically get the other.

Why comply with the Building Regulations?

It's important to understand building regulations, as you are responsible for making sure that the work complies with them if you are carrying out building work personally. If you are employing a builder, the responsibility will usually be theirs - but you should confirm this at the beginning. Also bear in mind that if you are the owner of the building, it is ultimately you who may be served with an enforcement notice if the work does not comply with the regulations.

Remember that complying with Building Regulations is a separate matter from getting planning permission for your work.

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