If you want to build a new building or change something about a building you’ll need Building Regulation approval. 

To make sure the building is safe and can be used in the way you plan you must have building approval for:

• new buildings
• changing existing buildings
• installing controlled services and fittings
• changing what a building is used for

If you are making improvements to your home, the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) have produced useful guides to get you started, or you can check what you need to do through the interactive service. The LABC is a not-for-profit membership organisation that represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales.

Building regulations cover:

• structure, strength and stability
• fire safety
• moisture resistance
• toxic substances
• sound insulation
• ventilation
• hygiene
• drainage and waste disposal
• equipment which produces heat
• stairway construction
• fuel and power saving
• disabled access and facilities
• safety glazing

Work that does not need building control approval

• maintenance work
• minor repairs
• additional power or lighting points and switches (except around baths and showers)
• alterations to existing circuits (except around baths and showers)
• like-for-like replacements of baths, toilets, basins or sinks
• boundary or garden walls, fences and gates

Buildings that do not need building control approval

• greenhouses (providing they are not used for retail, packing or exhibiting)
• some agricultural buildings
• temporary buildings (erected for less than 28 days)
• some ancillary buildings such as estate sales buildings and building site offices without sleeping accommodation
• some small detached buildings
• buildings that are not frequented by people
• some single storey buildings, including garages, that are less than 30m2 floor area and contain no sleeping accommodation, and are at least one metre from any boundary or constructed of non-combustible materials
• some porches
• a carport open on at least two sides
• a conservatory or porch that is less than 30m2, with a significant proportion of the roof and walls glazed (no % given), it must be at ground level, it must comply with relevant sections of Part K (glazing), be thermally separated from the dwelling by external quality windows and/or doors and the buildings heating system must not be extended into the conservatory or porch
• crown property
• buildings subject to the Explosives Act
• buildings other than houses or offices erected on a site licensed under the Nuclear Installations Act
• buildings included in the Schedule to Section 1 of the Ancients Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act

You might still need approval for any enabling works. For example, creating a wider opening into an exempt conservatory would still need approval for the structural alteration to widen the opening. 

Contact us if you have any questions or need advice about building regulation approval.