Planning, building and the environment

Building Regulations

Communities and Local Government is responsible for policy on Building Regulations, which exist to ensure the health, safety, welfare and convenience of people in and around buildings, and the energy efficiency of buildings. The regulations apply to most new buildings and many alterations of existing buildings in England and Wales, whether domestic, commercial or industrial.

To help you understand the Building Control system:

the Department published The Building Regulations Explanatory Booklet. It provides an introduction to the Building Regulations in England and Wales only, and can be found below in the Related Publications section
you can find out more about The Building Regulations which are made under powers provided in the Building Act 1984, and apply in England and Wales, and in the supporting Building Regulations 2000 (as amended) and Building (Approved Inspectors) Regulations 2000 (as amended),which are in the Legislation section
guidance on how to meet the functional requirements of the Building Regulations, are contained in the Building Regulations - Approved Documents (external link). Adobe PDF copies can now be downloaded from the Planning Portal website
the latest building regulations publications relating to consultations, impact assessments, policy, manuals and booklets can be found under the Publications section on the left hand side. The Department also publishes a number of research reports to help provide scientific support for building regulations policies and all such research reports can be found in the Building Regulation Research section
to explain new and altered building regulations policy and legislation, the Department publishes departmental Circulars and Circular Letters which provide further guidance to Building Control Bodies (either a local authority building control or a private sector approved inspector), and are available in the Circulars and Circular Letters section

If you believe that your work cannot be expected to comply with one or more of the requirements in the Building Regulations and agreement cannot be reached with your Building Control Body (either a local authority building control or a private sector approved inspector) regarding your building plans, there are two procedures - Determinations and Appeals - within the Building Regulations that can be used to resolve the dispute. Further information, including decision letters on previous Determinations and Appeals cases, is available in this section. Latest decision letters can also be found in the Related Publications section.

This Department is responsible for monitoring the Competent Persons Schemes, that allow individuals and enterprises that are competent in their fields to self-certify that their work complies with the Building Regulations. General Information on the Competent Persons Scheme, including a list of current existing schemes, can be found in this section.

This Department is the sponsoring department for the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC), an advisory non-departmental public body, which provides technical advice and views to the Department on a broad range of issues relating to the building regulations. Annual Reports, meeting papers, and minutes of meetings can found in this section.

It is also the sponsoring department for the Architects Registration Board, which is a statutory body responsible for the registration of architects, and further information is available in the Government liasion with architects section.