If you’re planning a home renovation, you’ll need to make sure it complies with UK Building Regulations. Below, we'll walk you through what these are and how to apply. 

Building Regulations UK: What You Need to Know

In the UK, Building Regulations are minimum standards covering the design, construction and alteration of buildings to ensure they are safe and legal. UK Building Regulations are developed by the government and approved in Parliament. They were last updated in 2010.

UK Building Regulations are set out in a list of Approved Documents that serve as a compliance guide. These cover things like quality of work, adequate materials, acoustic and thermal insulation, fire safety, ventilation, disabled access, plumbing, electrical wiring, etc. The idea is to ensure that your property is not in worse condition or left unsafe after a home renovation. With this in mind, Building Regulations may stipulate that certain jobs are done by qualified and registered professionals, like gas fitters, electricians, and so on. 

In the UK, Building Regulations approval is required for most construction work. To get approval, you need to apply to your local authority Building Control department or an approved inspector. There are two ways to do this: 1) submit your plans and an application to your local authority before starting work, or, 2) notify them 48 hours before starting and wait for an inspector to visit the site. The latter is obviously riskier as you won’t find out about any compliance issues until work is underway, which could cause delays and run up costs. In the worst case scenario, if you’re denied approval everything will have to be put on hold while you go through the appeal process. 

Note that Building Regulations and planning permission are two different things.

Difference Between Building Regulations and Planning Permissions

Very broadly, UK Building Regulations have to do with health and safety requirements, energy efficiency and conservation and access and comfort for disabled people. 

By contract, planning regulations seek to control and shape the development of towns, cities and countryside and regulate the impact of construction on the environment. They govern how land and buildings are used, how they look and how they are accessed from the road. 

Planning permission and Building Regulations approval have separate application processes and bodies. The fact that you need or have gotten one does not automatically mean you need or will be granted the other. For example, you can do many home renovations, especially internal, without planning permission that may still need Building Regulations approval. 

When Do You Need Building Regulations Approval?

UK Building Regulations will normally apply to your home renovation if you: 

• Construct a new building, extend or alter an existing one. 
• Change the use. For example, convert a garage into living space since the structure will need to be upgraded to living standards. 
• Install services like washing facilities, toilets, hot water cylinders, drainage, fuel burning appliances. 

You may also need UK building regulations approval for more minor home improvements like: 

• Replacing fuse boxes and connected electrics or changing the electrics near a bath or shower. 
• Plumbing in a bathroom. 
• Installing air conditioning. 
• Replacing windows and doors. 
• Replacing roof coverings. 
• Installing, replacing or upgrading your heating system, including adding extra radiators.  

There are a few exemptions under UK Building Regulations, such as for greenhouses or ancillary buildings, among others. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t need planning permission.   

As well as being up to spec, work must not negatively affect anything else. For example, if you put in double glazing, you need to make sure it doesn’t affect ventilation or make it more difficult to escape from the building.  

If you’re doing DIY it’s your responsibility to comply with Building Regulations. If you’re hiring a home improvement company they should be able to handle it all. Do check before you start, though, and make sure you hire a reputable company that doesn’t cut corners. Ultimately, it’ll be you who gets served with an enforcement notice if the work isn’t up to standard.  

You can save on building regulations inspection fees by using traders registered under the Competent Person Scheme who can self-certify their work.