Building Regulations

If you're a homeowner and planning an extension or conversion, you may need a building regulations inspection as well as planning permission. Whereas planning permission is about how a building looks, building regulations make sure your home is structurally safe.

Getting building work approved by your local council’s building control team helps ensure that the work is safe and up to building regulations standards as well as protecting you against rogue builders. So seek their advice before starting any building project.

What are Building Regulations?

Building Regulations in England and Wales are made under the Building Act 1984 and are regularly changed and updated.

Building Regulations set minimum 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.

You don’t have to follow the exact guidance in most cases and an architect, architectural technician or Building Engineer can often suggest other equally acceptable solutions which will be agreed with your building control surveyor.

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

What is covered in the Approved Documents?

Technical parts of building work are described in detail in a series of Approved Documents, which are published in documents from A to P to match the building regulations requirements.

You can access all of the Approved Documents on the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) website.