Find out more about Building Regulations and Approved Documents
Building Regulations recommend minimum standards in structural stability, fire safety, damp-proofing, sound insulation, stairs ramps and guards, ventilation, drainage, energy conservation, access to and use of buildings, glazing, heat producing appliances water efficiency and electrical safety.
The Regulations generally apply to new, extended and altered buildings whether they are residential, commercial or industrial.
Practical guidance on ways to comply with the functional requirements of the Building Regulations are contained in a series of Approved Documents. There is an Approved Document for each section of schedule 1 of the Building Regulations.
Each document contains:
- General guidance on the performance expected of materials and building work in order to comply with each of the requirements, and
- Practical examples and solutions on how to achieve compliance for some of the more common building situations.
The Approved Documents are available to view on the Planning Portal (Building Regulations) website.
Applying for permission
If you propose to carry out building work which is subject to the Building Regulations, you can make a Full Plans submission, or (subject to some restrictions) deposit a Building Notice.
If you have previously carried out building work which is subject to the Building Regulations, without submitting a full plans application or building notice, you can apply for a Regularisation Certificate, if the work was carried out after 11th November 1985.
The planning portal is an on-line resource for building regulation information. This website gives information on the Building Regulations and general advice on how they apply to various types of common building work.
Planning Portal - interactive house guide
Planning Portal - interactive terrace house guide
The booklet was last fully revised in May 2004, with a minor amendment in February 2005 to encompass the new Part P (Electrical safety). It gives an introduction to the Building Regulations in England and Wales only and is intended for anyone proposing to carry out building projects. It is not a statement of the law but is intended to help you to understand the system. Please note that it does not include amendments made by Building Regulation amendments in 2006 and 2007 and more recently (see Circulars 03/2006, 05/2006 and 02/2007). If you have a question about these amendments and your building work, you should contact us directly.
Important: Meeting the requirements of the Building Regulations is the responsibility of the person carrying out the building work and, if they are not the same person, the owner of the building, see:
your responsibilities - building regulations
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) provides a large amount of information which is available to both the public and professional user. Use the link on the right of this page to visit their main website. RICS provide
consumer guides which cover a number of property related subjects including party walls, home extensions and boundary disputes.
Find out more about making Building Control applications
Making a Full Plans application
To make a full plans submission you will need to prepare, or have prepared detailed plans of your proposals drawn to a suitable scale.
Detailed plans will need to include any necessary sections, plan views and elevations to clearly show the proposed building work and its effect on any existing buildings (in the case of extensions to existing buildings).
You will also need a plan to a scale of not less than 1:1250 indicating the size and position of the building, or building as extended in relation to its boundaries/curtilage, adjacent buildings and adjoining streets.
You will also need to give details of the materials it is intended to use in the carrying out of your project.
Structural calculations may be required to justify certain components of your development (such as in a loft conversion or work not within the scope of Approved Document A).
The appropriate application form will need to be completed in duplicate and submitted with two copies of your plans and supporting details. Two further copies of your plans will need to be submitted if we have to consult with the fire authority (if your proposals relate to a building where the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies).
The relevant plan charge will need to accompany your application (see separate guidance).
Once we have received your application it will go through a validation process to ensure the relevant documents and charges have been submitted.
The application will then be registered and acknowledged.
A Building Control Surveyor will then check your submission for compliance with the Building Regulations, Approved Documents and other supporting documentation; we aim to do this within three weeks of you submitting your application.
If the Building Control Surveyor requires further information or identifies contraventions of the regulations you or your agent will be informed and given the opportunity to amend the plans prior to a formal decision being taken.
If the submission shows compliance with the Building Regulations a formal notice of passing of Building Plans will be issued, this will be sent to you or your agent together with a copy of your plans duly stamped approved.
If the application does not show compliance, and is not amended to show compliance, within the statutory period (5 weeks from the deposit date or 8 weeks if you have agreed to a 3 week extension of the period) a formal notice of rejection of Building Plans has to be issued.
If you agree, a conditional notice of passing of Building Plans can be issued specifying modifications to the plans or requiring the deposit of further plans or information.
If we receive amended plans after a formal notice of rejection of Building Plans has been issued, your application will be resubmitted and given further consideration. There are no further plan charges payable to us for this process.
You are entitled to commence building work once you have deposited an application with us.
We recommend you do not start work until your plans have been approved.
This is to prevent the possibility of having to correct work which may not comply with the Building Regulations, causing you additional expense and wasted time.
A completion certificate will be issued upon satisfactory completion of the building work.
Depositing a Building Notice
This procedure does not involve the passing or rejecting of plans. It enables building work to get underway quickly.
A Building Notice cannot be used if the proposed building work:
- relates to a building which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies.
- the work is over or close to (within 3m of the centreline of the pipe) rainwater or foul drains or sewers shown on the Water Utility Companies 'map of sewers'.
In the case of the erection or extension of a building you will need a plan to a scale of not less than 1:1250 indicating the size and position of the building, or building as extended in relation to its boundaries/curtilage, adjacent buildings and adjoining streets. This plan should also show details of the existing and any proposed drainage.
The Building Notice application form will need to be fully completed and submitted with your plan, where appropriate, together with the Building Notice Charge (see separate guidance).
You should deposit the notice with us at least two days before you intend to commence the work.
Once we have received your notice it will go through a validation process to ensure the relevant documents and charges have been deposited.
The application will then be registered and acknowledged.
A Building Control Surveyor will check your application to ensure the correct information has been deposited in support of the Building Notice. We aim to do this within three working days of receiving your notice.
If additional information is required, the Building Control Surveyor will write to you advising of the additional information required.
You should be aware that, because there is no approved plan to work to, the Building Control Surveyor will only be able to identify work which is not in accordance with the Building Regulations whilst carrying out site inspections during the construction process.
We will inform you (or your site operatives) of any contraventions of Building Regulations identified on site verbally and confirm this in writing.
This will enable you to arrange for remedial works, to be put in hand, to correct any work in contravention.
A completion certificate will be issued upon satisfactory completion of the building work.
Applying to regularise unauthorised building work
This is a procedure for submitting an application retrospectively for unauthorised work controllable under the Building Regulations.
The procedure to apply for a Regularisation Certificate was introduced in 1994 under the provisions of the Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 1994, which came into operation on 1st October 1994; subsequent amendments came into force on 1st July 1995.
This procedure gives the owner of the property the opportunity to regularise unauthorised building work which was carried out on or after 11th November 1985, for which Building Regulations required at the time the work was undertaken either a full plans application, building notice or initial notice to be deposited with the Local Authority.
The submission of an application is voluntary and cannot be insisted on by the Local Authority. However, the Local Authority may place an informal notice on the Land Registry of the property in relation to unauthorised work, for the benefit of future/prospective owners.
Note: - The submission of a valid application for a Regularisation Certificate will prevent the Local Authority from instigating legal proceedings against a person, who has completed building work within the last two years, for a contravention of the procedural requirements of the Building Regulations. It would not prevent them from instigating legal proceedings for a breech of the technical requirements of the Building Regulations where the work has been completed within the last two years.
The regularisation application form should be completed and deposited with the Local Authority together with, where practical, a plan of the unauthorised work and that of any additional work required to secure compliance with the Building Regulations in force at the time the work was carried out.
The relevant charge must also be deposited with the application which is 120% of the current Building Notice Charge, before VAT applicable to the scale/type of work undertaken, no VAT is applicable to this type of application.
This charge is a single payment and is not refundable should you decide not to proceed with any remedial works (where necessary), that have been identified.
When an application has been received and verified you will be able to arrange for a Building Control Surveyor to undertake an inspection of the works.
You will be advised of the need to expose or open up such areas of the work in order to determine compliance with the Building Regulations applicable at the time the work was undertaken.
Any contraventions of the Building Regulations and or remedial works required will be identified and forwarded to you to act upon.
When the Building Control Surveyor is satisfied that the work complies with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations a Regularisation Certificate will be issued.
Full particulars of the regularisation request are contained in Regulation 18 of the Building Regulations 2010 and in respect of the charges in the Building (Local Authority Charge) Regulations 2010 and the charge scheme adopted by the Council.
You are reminded that permission may also have been required under the Town and Country Planning Act. For further advice please contact the Planning department, see Environment and planning section in this website.
If you require further information relating to regularising unauthorised work please contact the Building Control Office on 01708 432700 or the contact details shown at the top right of this page.
Building Control inspections
The Building Regulations require a person who carries out building work to notify their local authority at various stages throughout the construction process from commencement to completion regardless of whether they submit a Building Notice or deposit Full Plans.
The Requirements
Building Regulation 16 states that a person who intends to carry out building work shall not commence that work unless:
- they have given the local authority notice they intend to commence the work, and
- at least two days have lapsed since the end of the day on which they gave that notice.
They shall not cover up any:
- excavation for a foundation,
- any foundation or
- any damp-proof course or
- any concrete or other material laid over a site or
- any drain or sewer which the regulations apply to
Unless they have given the local authority notice that they intend to start that work, and at least one day has elapsed since the end of the day they gave that notice.
'Day' means any period of 24 hours commencing at midnight and excludes any Saturday, Sunday, Bank holiday or public holiday.
When the building work has been completed, the person carrying out that work must notify the local authority within five days, the same notification period applies to buildings which are to be occupied before completion.
Where a person fails to give the local authority notice as described above, the local authority may serve notice on them to cut into, lay open or pull down so much of the work as prevents them from ascertaining whether the work complies with the Building Regulations.
If the local authority has served a notice specifying building work contravenes the Building Regulations and remedial work is undertaken to secure compliance, the person undertaking that work shall notify the local authority when that work has been completed.
Our Inspection Service
If you have a stage of your building work ready for inspection and require it inspected the same day, you must contact us before 10am, we will then endeavour to inspect later that day.
Building Control Surveyors normally carry out inspections between 11:00am and 3:30pm every working day. They are unable to give timed appointments.
As well as notification required by Building Regulations (see 'The Requirements' above) we may also ask to be notified when other elements of your building work are ready, such as roof, insulation and structural members.
On our first visit we will issue an inspection log which, if requested, the Building Control Surveyor can sign every time a satisfactory inspection is made. You will then have a record of what has been inspected and what is yet to be inspected.
Following a satisfactory completion inspection of the work, and subject to all charges having been paid, a completion certificate will be issued within 5 working days.
You can request an inspection
via our website or by telephoning 01708 432700 or 01708 432701 (answer phone available to leave requests for inspections out of hours).
Health and Safety
When undertaking construction works, owners, builders and persons visiting the site each have responsibilities under Health & Safety legislation.
Those responsible for the site must ensure that safe access is provided for Building Control Surveyors to undertake site inspection duties in accordance with Health & Safety legislation.
If safe access is not provided for Building Control Surveyors the site inspection will not be undertaken until such time as safe access is provided.
Electrical safety in dwellings and gardens - Part P
From the 1 January 2005, people carrying out electrical work in homes and gardens will have to comply with the Building Regulations Approved Document P.
Frequently Asked Questions - F A Q
If I want to install or replace electrical wiring, will the Building Regulations apply?
Yes - the Building Regulations apply to all electrical work in dwellings. Electrical work involving fixed wiring and appliances should be acceptably safe whoever undertakes the work. This can be achieved by following the recommendations for design, installation, inspection, testing and certification in 'Requirements for Electrical Installations - IEE Wiring Regulations' (BS 7671).
Do I have to tell my Building Control Service about all electrical work that I intend to carry out?
No - you only need to tell your Building Control Service about certain riskier, 'notifiable' jobs, but if you employ a registered installer with the relevant competencies to carry out the work, you will not need to involve a Building Control Service. Notifiable works include new circuits back to the consumer unit and additions or alterations to existing circuits in kitchens bathrooms and outdoors. Works that are not notifiable include repairs, replacements and maintenance; and additions or alterations to existing circuits outside kitchens and bathrooms. If you are not sure whether work is notifiable, you should check with your Building Control Service.
Can I find out if an installer is registered to do electrical work?
Yes - phone the registration scheme operators (details on our guidance note in related links) or visit their websites.
Will I get a certificate that the electrical work meets the requirements of the Building Regulations?
Yes - a qualified installer should give you a signed BS 7671 electrical safety certificate for all types of electrical work. If you use a registered installer for notifiable work, the operator of the registration scheme will send you a Building Regulations compliance certificate. If you use an unregistered installer for notifiable work, the Building Control Service will inspect the work to check that it complies with the Building Regulations before issuing a completion certificate
Exempt Buildings and Work
Buildings and structures that gain exemption from the Building Regulations
IMPORTANT NOTE
Although the structure of the building may gain exemption under the Building Regulations ALL electrical installations/supplies to such buildings on domestic property/land are subject to control under Building Regulation Part P Electrical Safety.
In these circumstances it may be necessary to make a Building Regulations application for the new electrical work. For further guidance please see the section on Part P Electrical Safety.
The list of following building structures gain exemption
Class I - Buildings controlled under other legislation
1. Any building the construction of which is subject to the Explosives Acts of 1875 and 1923.
2. Any building (other than a building containing a dwelling or a building used for office or canteen accommodation) erected on a site in respect of which a licence under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 is for the time being in force.
3. A building included in the schedule of monuments under section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Areas Act 1979.
Class II - Buildings not frequented by people
A detached building-
(a) into which people do not normally go; or
(b) into which people go only intermittently and then only for the purpose of inspecting or maintaining fixed plant or machinery, unless any point of such a building is less than one and a half times its height from
(i) any point of a building into which people can or do normally go; or
(ii) the nearest point of the boundary of the curtilage of that building, whichever is the nearer.
Class III - Greenhouses and agricultural buildings
1. Subject to paragraph 3, a greenhouse.
2. A building used, subject to paragraph 3, for agriculture, or a building principally for the keeping of animals, provided in each case that-
(a) no part of the building is used as a dwelling;
(b) no part of the building is less than one and a half times its height from any point of a building which contains sleeping accommodation; and
(c) the building is provided with a fire exit which is not more than 30 metres from any point in the building.
3. The descriptions of buildings in paragraphs 1 and 2 do not include a greenhouse or a building used for agriculture if the principle purpose for which they are used is retailing, packing or exhibiting.
4. In paragraph 2, "agriculture" includes horticulture, fruit growing, the growing of plants for seed and fish farming.
Class IV - Temporary buildings
A building which is not intended to remain where it is erected for more than 28 days.
Class V - Ancillary buildings
1. A building on a site, being a building which is intended to be used only in connection with the disposal of buildings or building plots on that site.
2. A building on the site of construction or civil engineering works, which is intended to be used only during the course of those works and contains no sleeping accommodation.
3. A building, other than a building containing a dwelling or used as an office or showroom, erected for use on a site of and in connection with a mine or quarry.
Class VI - Small detached buildings
1. A detached single storey building, having a floor area which does not exceed 30m2, which contains no sleeping accommodation and is a building-
(a) no point of which is less than one metre from the boundary of its curtilage; or
(b) which is constructed substantially of non-combustible material.
2. A detached building designed and intended to shelter people from the effects of nuclear, chemical or conventional weapons, and not used for any other purpose, if-
a) its floor area does not exceed 30m2; and
(b) the excavation for the building is no closer to any exposed part of another building or structure than a distance equal to the depth of the excavation plus one metre.
3. A detached building, having a floor area which does not exceed 15m2, which contains no sleeping accommodation.
Class VII - Extensions
The extension of a building by the addition at ground level of-
(a) a conservatory, porch, covered yard or covered way; or
(b) a carport open on at least two sides;
where the floor area of that extension does not exceed 30m2, provided that in the case of a conservatory or porch which is wholly or partly glazed, the glazing satisfies the requirements of Part N of Schedule 1.
Meet the team
Havering Council Building Control pride itself in providing professionally qualified expert staff with extensive knowledge of the local area and all areas of the Building Regulations.
Our surveyors can usually be contacted Monday to Friday between 9am and 10am. From 10.30am they are usually carrying out inspections on site and are not available.
The Team is:
- Martin Ramsey, Building Control Manager
Tel: 01708 432705
- Peter Berry, Principal Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432707
- Ron Adams, Principal Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432710
Area 1: Havering-atte-Bower; Collier Row; Romford; Rush Green; Rise Park; Gidea Park
- Mark Butt, District Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432712
- Phillip Mortlock, Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432702
- Charlotte Burns, Building Control Technical Assistant
Tel: 01708 432706
Area 2: north of Hornchurch Road; Emerson Park; Harold Wood; Harold Hill; north of Upminster Road; Cranham
- Alan Davies, District Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432709
- Glen Elliott, Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432673
- Stanley Hurrell, Building Control Technical Assistant
Tel: 01708 432711
Area 3: south of Hornchurch Road; Elm Park; Rainham; south of Upminster Road; Corbets Tey; North Ockendon; Wennington
- Ahmed Hamdan, District Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432656
- Edward Garnett, Building Control Surveyor (Special Projects)
Tel: 01708 432704
- Peter Stallard (part-time), Building Control Surveyor
Tel: 01708 432708
Our administration team is:
- Gill Savory
Tel: 01708 432703
- Karen Leonard
Tel: 01708 432703
- Jo Bide
Tel: 01708 432700
- Susan Brunt
Tel: 01708 432701
- Fax: 01708 432690
- E-mail: buildingcontrol@havering.gov.uk
Warranty Schemes
New Home Warranty
LABC New Home Warranty (LABC NHW), together with LABC, can provide developers and self builders with a complete range of developer services to support build programmes from start to finish, from warranties, right through to sale with the Home Information Pack service. The synergies of providing these services under one roof allows them to pass significant cost savings on to you. Services available include:
- 10 year Structural Warranties
- Code for Sustainable Homes Assessments
- EPC, PEA and accredited SAP Assessments
- SBEM Assessments
- Acoustic Testing
- Air Pressure Testing
- Home Information Packs
To find out more or obtain a quotation, please contact the LABC New Home Warranty Team on 0845 054 050.
Commercial Warranty
LABC Latent Gold is a structural defects insurance for commercial buildings up to £15 million in value and, by arrangement, for buildings valued over £15 million.
It is delivered by LABC via local authority building control departments in partnership with Oval Insurance Broking, with Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality (Allianz) as underwriters.
LABC Latent Gold provides a low cost way to avoid the high risks and legal complexities associated with collateral warranties.
Most commercial properties are covered - offices, hotels, restaurants, factories, warehouses, surgeries, schools, shops, sports stadiums and many more.
Developers, owners, tenants and other users/occupiers are all insured.
The combined cost of LABC Building Control and LABC Latent Gold will almost always be less than that obtainable from any other provider.
Click on the Oval Insurance logo to get a quote.
Replacement Glazing
From April 2002, all replacement glazing comes within the scope of the Building Regulations. Therefore, anyone who installs replacement windows or doors has to comply with strict thermal performance standards.
One of the main reasons for the change is the need to reduce energy loss. The Building Regulations have controlled glazing in new buildings for many years but they represent only a very small percentage of our total building stock.
It is also essential to improve the performance of the much larger numbers of existing buildings if we are to meet increasingly stringent national and global energy saving targets.
When the time comes to sell your property, your purchaser's surveyors will ask for evidence that any replacement glazing installed after 1st April 2002 complies with the new Building Regulations.
There are two ways to prove compliance:-
1) A certificate showing that the work has been done by an installer who is registered under a Competent Persons Scheme, or
2) A certificate from the local authority saying that the installation has approval under the Building Regulations.
The Competent Persons Scheme
This scheme allows installation companies that meet certain criteria to self-certify that their work complies with the Building Regulations. There are currently three schemes operated by:
- FENSA (Fenestration Self Assessment Scheme)
- British Standards Institution (BSI)
- CERTASS Limited
All three schemes have been approved by central Government. A sample of the work of every installer is inspected by the Competent Persons Scheme operator to ensure standards are maintained. The Competent Person Operator will also inform local authorities of all completed installations and issue certificates to householders confirming compliance.
Further information is available from the following websites:
Any installation done by a firm which is not registered to self-certify, or done as a DIY project by a householder, will need full local authority approval under the Building Regulations. Local authorities will know of all the approved installers in their areas and will be able to identify unauthorised work very easily. You should note that you, as the house owner, are ultimately responsible for ensuring the work complies with the Building Regulations.
Local Authority Approval
If the installer is not registered with a Competent Person Scheme they, or you must give a Building Notice, together with the relevant charge (see charge guidance - table three) to the local authority, detailing the proposed installation. The local authority will then make the necessary inspections and issue a Completion Certificate to the homeowner when the work is in accordance with the Building Regulations.
You must also check whether Planning Permission or Listed Building consent is required.