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Planning · England, with Wales noted

Building regulations, part by part

Approved Documents A to T, certificates, and what a buyer's solicitor asks for

How the system fits together

Planning permission says whether you may build. Building regulations say how. The two are separate consents from separate teams, and having one is no evidence of the other.

The Building Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2214) are made under the Building Act 1984. Regulation 4 requires building work to comply with the requirements in Schedule 1, divided into Parts A to T. Each Part is a short functional requirement. The Approved Documents are government guidance on ways to meet each Part; following one is not compulsory, but departing from it means showing compliance another way. The date given for each below is the date gov.uk shows for the version currently published; edition names are given where verified.

The Approved Documents

A, Structure (gov.uk date 1 September 2013). Loads, ground movement and disproportionate collapse. It sets the design basis for foundations, walls, floors and roofs, with tables for wall thickness, timber sizes and foundation widths for small buildings.

B, Fire safety (2019 edition incorporating 2020, 2022 and 2025 amendments; gov.uk date 11 March 2025). Two volumes, dwellings and other buildings. Means of warning and escape, internal and external fire spread, and fire service access. The 2025 amendments require sprinklers in new care homes and complete the withdrawal of the old national fire test classes in favour of BS EN 13501, with transition periods.

C, Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture (gov.uk date 3 September 2013). Clearing the site, contaminated land and radon, and keeping ground moisture, rain and condensation out of floors, walls and roofs.

D, Toxic substances (gov.uk date 2 December 2010). A single requirement: cavity insulation must not give off toxic fumes. It exists because of urea formaldehyde foam.

E, Resistance to the passage of sound (gov.uk date 4 March 2015). Sound insulation between and within dwellings, with pre-completion sound testing (or registered construction details in place of testing) for new flats and attached houses. A barn split into two houses needs a separating wall that meets Part E and a test to prove it.

F, Ventilation (2021 edition incorporating 2022 amendments; gov.uk date 15 June 2022). Background ventilators, extract fans in kitchens and bathrooms, whole-house ventilation rates and the rule that adding insulation or replacing windows must not make ventilation worse. A 2026 edition of volume 1 has been published for the Future Homes Standard.

G, Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency (gov.uk date 1 October 2024). Cold and hot water supply, the 60 degree limit on stored hot water and the requirement for a bath to be filled at no more than 48 degrees in new dwellings, sanitary conveniences, and the water efficiency calculation of 125 litres per person per day, or an optional 110 litres where a planning condition requires it [TO CONFIRM figures against the current edition].

H, Drainage and waste disposal (gov.uk date 4 December 2010). Foul drainage, wastewater treatment and cesspools, rainwater drainage, building over sewers and refuse storage. A septic tank or treatment plant for a rural conversion is sized and sited under Part H.

J, Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems (gov.uk date 30 September 2022). Flues, chimneys, hearths, air supply to boilers and stoves, carbon monoxide alarms, and oil and LPG tanks. A wood-burning stove installation is Part J work.

K, Protection from falling, collision and impact (gov.uk date 3 January 2013). Stair pitch, rise and going, headroom, handrails and guarding, and safety glazing in critical locations.

L, Conservation of fuel and power (2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments; gov.uk date 2 February 2023). Two volumes. Fabric U-values, airtightness, target emission and primary energy rates for new dwellings, standards for extensions and replacement windows and boilers, and commissioning. See the Future Homes Standard below.

M, Access to and use of buildings (gov.uk date 1 October 2024). Volume 1 covers dwellings with the three categories M4(1) visitable, M4(2) accessible and adaptable, and M4(3) wheelchair user dwellings, the last two applying only where a planning condition requires them. Volume 2 covers other buildings.

O, Overheating (2021 edition; gov.uk date 15 June 2022). New residential buildings must limit solar gain and provide a means of removing excess heat, by the simplified method (glazing area limits by orientation and opening areas) or by dynamic thermal modelling.

P, Electrical safety (gov.uk date 1 January 2013). Electrical installations in dwellings must be designed and installed to protect against fire and injury. Notifiable work is a new circuit, a consumer unit replacement, or work in a special location such as a bathroom.

Q, Security in dwellings (gov.uk date 22 November 2024). Doors and windows in new dwellings, and in buildings changed to dwellings, must resist physical attack by a casual or opportunist burglar, in practice by meeting PAS 24.

R, Infrastructure for electronic communications (gov.uk date 4 October 2022). Volume 1 requires gigabit-ready physical infrastructure and, where the cost does not exceed a set cap [TO CONFIRM cap], a gigabit-capable connection in new dwellings. Volume 2 requires in-building infrastructure for high-speed networks in other new and majorly renovated buildings.

S, Infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles (gov.uk date 17 April 2023). New dwellings with an associated parking space must have a charge point; residential buildings undergoing major renovation, and new and renovated non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces, must have charge points and cable routes.

T, Toilet accommodation (gov.uk date 3 November 2025). Universal, ambulant and cubicle toilet provision in new buildings other than dwellings and in buildings undergoing a material change of use. It does not apply to dwellings. Date in force [TO CONFIRM].

Approved Document 7, Materials and workmanship (gov.uk date 29 November 2018) supports regulation 7, below.

Regulation 7 and combustible external walls

Regulation 7(1) requires adequate and proper materials, used in a workmanlike manner. Regulation 7(2), substituted with effect from 1 December 2022 by SI 2022/603, requires that materials which become part of an external wall or specified attachment of a “relevant building” achieve European classification A2-s1, d0 or A1. Regulation 7(4) defines a relevant building as one with a storey at least 18 metres above ground level that contains one or more dwellings, an institution, or a room for residential purposes. Regulation 7(3) lists exemptions such as cavity trays, window frames, seals, membranes and certain balcony components. Regulation 7(1A) separately bans relevant metal composite material from the external wall of any building, of any height.

Full plans, building notice and initial notice

Regulation 12 gives the person carrying out the work the choice, under 12(2), of giving a building notice under regulation 13 or an application for building control approval with full plans under regulation 14. A building notice is a short form with a site plan; the inspector checks the work as it goes. Full plans are drawings and specifications approved before work starts. Regulation 12(3) to (5) requires full plans where the building is one to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies (anything other than a private house, including flats and houses in multiple occupation), where a building will front a private street, or where paragraph H4 (building over a sewer) applies. A building notice gives no approval document, only inspection records and a completion certificate, which is one reason lenders and buyers prefer full plans for anything structural. The third route is an initial notice given jointly with a registered building control approver, which takes the work out of the council’s hands.

Under the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023, approval lapses if the work has not commenced within 3 years, and “commenced” now has a defined meaning (broadly, the foundations and ground floor structure, or 15 per cent of the work).

Building control after the Building Safety Act 2022

From 1 October 2023 the Building Safety Regulator became the building control authority for higher-risk buildings, and dutyholder and competence duties apply to all building work: the client, principal designer and principal contractor must be competent and must plan and manage compliance. From 6 April 2024 individual building inspectors must be registered with the Regulator, and the private approved inspector system was replaced by registered building control approvers under the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/110); the Construction Industry Council’s approved inspector register ceased in April 2024.

A higher-risk building, under the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023, is at least 18 metres high or at least 7 storeys and contains at least two residential units, or is a hospital or care home meeting the same height test. The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/909) impose three gateways: a fire statement at planning stage; building control approval from the Regulator before work starts, with a 12 week determination period for a new building (regulation 5); and a completion certificate (regulation 40) without which the building may not be occupied.

Completion certificates and regularisation

Regulation 17 requires the council to give a completion certificate within eight weeks of the completion notice where it is satisfied, after taking all reasonable steps, that the relevant requirements have been met. Under regulation 17(4) the certificate “shall be evidence (but not conclusive evidence) that the requirements specified in the certificate have been complied with”. It is the document every buyer’s solicitor asks for.

Where work was done without any notice, the owner may apply under regulation 18 for a regularisation certificate for unauthorised work carried out on or after 11 November 1985. The council may require the work to be laid open for inspection and tested, and will issue the certificate only once satisfied that the requirements are met or that no further work is needed. Regularisation is at the owner’s cost and can mean taking up floors or cutting into walls. The alternative enforcement risk has grown: under section 36(4) of the Building Act 1984 as amended by the Building Safety Act 2022, a notice requiring removal or alteration of non-compliant work may now be given within 10 years of completion in England, not 12 months, and section 36(6) preserves the right to seek an injunction beyond that.

Competent person schemes

Regulation 12(6) and regulation 20 let work listed in Schedule 3 proceed without a building notice if done by a person registered with an authorised competent person scheme. Within 30 days of completion the installer must give the occupier a certificate and notify the council through the scheme. The certificate proves that the installer self-certified the work and that the council was told; it does not prove the council inspected anything. The schemes named on gov.uk include:

Work Schemes What the certificate proves
Replacement windows and doors FENSA, Certass, Certsure, NAPIT, Blue Flame, Assure Compliance with Parts L, K, F and the glazing safety requirements
Gas appliances Gas Safe Register (the only scheme for gas) Compliance with Part J and the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998; the Gas Safe Building Regulations Compliance Certificate
Electrical work in dwellings (Part P) Certsure (trading as NICEIC and ELECSA), NAPIT, BESCA, Blue Flame and others The Building Regulations Compliance Certificate for notifiable electrical work; the installer also issues an Electrical Installation Certificate under BS 7671
Solid fuel and biomass appliances HETAS Compliance with Part J for stoves, flues and hearths
Oil-fired appliances and tanks OFTEC Compliance with Part J
Microgeneration (solar PV, heat pumps) APHC, BESCA, Certsure, HETAS, NAPIT, OFTEC Building regulations compliance for the installation

MCS, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, is not a competent person scheme. An MCS certificate proves that the installer and the products were MCS certified, which is what the Smart Export Guarantee and grant schemes require. It sits alongside, not instead of, the building regulations notification.

The Future Homes Standard

The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/335), made on 23 March 2026 and announced by Building Circular 01/2026 of 24 March 2026, bring in the Future Homes and Buildings Standards. They come into force on 24 March 2027 (24 September 2027 for higher-risk building work). New requirement L3 in Schedule 1 says that when a building is erected which is or contains one or more dwellings, “a system for on-site renewable electricity generation must be installed on the building or within the boundaries of the curtilage of the building”, with exceptions where installation is not feasible. Approved Documents L (volumes 1 and 2) and F (volume 1) have been republished as 2026 editions. The transitional provision is that work is exempt from the new standards where a building notice, initial notice or full plans application was given before 24 March 2027 and the work on that building commences before 24 March 2028.

What a buyer’s solicitor asks for

The standard enquiries ask the seller whether any building work, alteration, change of use, or installation of windows, boilers, stoves or electrics has been carried out, and for the completion certificate, the plans approval and the competent person certificates for each. The local authority search (form CON29) reveals building regulation applications and completion certificates on the council’s register, and any enforcement notices.

Where a certificate is missing the solicitor has three options: ask the seller to obtain a regularisation certificate, which takes weeks and may require opening up; accept the risk; or take out a building regulations indemnity policy. The policy insures the buyer and lender against loss if the council takes enforcement action, for a one-off premium. It does not insure that the work is safe, it is void if the council is contacted about the work before it is taken out, and it does not respond to a defect that simply fails. Lenders commonly accept a policy for older work [TO CONFIRM against the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook], but the 10 year enforcement window means old work is no longer safely “past enforcement” for anything completed since October 2023. A seller should gather every certificate before marketing; a buyer should get a surveyor’s opinion on any work that has no paper.

Sources

  • Building Regulations 2010, regulations 7, 12, 17, 18 and 20: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2214/regulation/7 (and /regulation/12, /17, /18, /20)
  • Building Act 1984, section 36: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/55/section/36
  • Approved Documents collection: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/approved-documents
  • Approved Document B: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b
  • Approved Document L: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conservation-of-fuel-and-power-approved-document-l
  • Approved Document T: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/toilet-accommodation-approved-document-t
  • MHCLG circular letter on building control changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-control-changes-for-higher-risk-buildings-and-wider-changes-to-building-regulations/circular-letter-changes-to-the-building-control-process
  • Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/909: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/909/made
  • Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/110: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/110/made
  • Competent person schemes: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/competent-person-scheme-current-schemes-and-how-schemes-are-authorised
  • Future Homes and Buildings Standards, Building Circular 01/2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-homes-and-buildings-standards-building-circular-012026/the-future-homes-and-buildings-standards-building-circular-012026-letter
  • Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/335: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/335/made
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