Building regulations in the United Kingdom are statutory instruments or statutory regulations that

seek to ensure that the policies set out in the relevant legislation are carried out. Building regulations
approval is required for most building work in the UK. Building regulations that apply across England
and Wales are set out in the Building Act 1984 while those that apply across Scotland are set out in
the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. The Act in England and Wales permits detailed regulations to be
made by the Secretary of State. The regulations made under the Act have been periodically
updated, rewritten or consolidated, with the latest and current version being the Building Regulations
2010. The UK Government (at Westminster) is responsible for the relevant legislation and
administration in England, the Welsh Government (at Cardiff) is the responsible body in Wales,
the Scottish Government (at Edinburgh) is responsible for the issue in Scotland, and the Northern
Ireland Executive (at Belfast) has responsibility within its jurisdiction. There are very similar (and
technically very comparable) Building Regulations in the Republic of Ireland.
The detailed requirements of Building regulations in England (and Wales) are scheduled within 16
separate headings, each designated by a letter (Part A to Part Q), and covering aspects such as
workmanship, adequate materials, structure, waterproofing and weatherisation, fire safety and
means of escape, sound isolation, ventilation, safe (potable) water, protection from falling, drainage,
sanitary facilities, accessibility and facilities for the disabled, electrical safety, security of a building,
and high speed broadband infrastructure.
For each Part, detailed specifications are available free online (in the English and Welsh
governments' "approved documents") describing the matters to be taken into account. The approved
documents are not literally legally binding in how the requirements must be met; rather, they present
the expectation of the Secretary of State concerning the minimum appropriate standards required for
compliance with the Building Regulations, and the common methods & materials used to achieve
these. The use of appropriate British Standards and/or European Standards is also accepted as one
way of complying with the Building Regulations requirements.
However, the supply of gas (natural and/or LPG) is not controlled by the Building Regulations, as
there are separate Gas Safety Regulations enforced by the Health and Safety Executive HSE).
Newer versions of Building Regulations are generally not retrospective, they are applied to each new
change or modification to a building (or new part of a building) but do not require renovation of
existing elements. There are general requirements for any change or improvement, that the building
must not be left any less satisfactory in compliance than before the works, and areas worked on
must not be left in unsafe condition by reference to current standards. The Regulations may also
specify in some cases, that when enough work is done in an area (such as partial new insulation)
the remainder of that area must be brought to an appropriate standard, however the standard
required for an existing building may be less stringent than that required for a completely new
building.
The Regulations also specify, that some types of work must be undertaken by an appropriate
qualified professional (such as works on gas or certain electrical matters), or must be notified to the
relevant local authority's Building regulations approval for certification or approval.
However, it should be remembered that the Building regulations are separate and distinct from
'Town Planning' and 'planning permission'; the building regulations control how buildings are to be
designed or modified on the public grounds of safety and sustainability while 'planning permission' is
concerned with appropriate development the nature of land usage, and the appearance of
neighbourhoods. Therefore, both must be considered when building works are to be undertaken.
The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 made provision for microgeneration to be
brought within the Building Regulations, and increased to two years the time limit for prosecuting
contraventions of the regulations relating to energy use, energy conservation or carbon emissions. It
also requires the Secretary of State to report on compliance with these aspects of the Building
Regulations and steps proposed to increase compliance. However, no such regulations have been
laid.
From 6 April 2006, the Building Regulations are extended by amendments to incorporate some of
the European Directives requiring energy in existing and new buildings to be measured, etc. The
core term building work was once again amended and extended in scope to include renovation of
thermal elements, and energy used by space cooling systems as well as energy used by space
heating systems. Both are now subject to efficiency limits, and energy use controls are required.
New additional competent persons schemes were proposed and authorised, in respect of energy
systems and energy efficient design.

 A total rewrite of Approved Document for Part P (Electrical Safety) was also issued in 2006.
 New Approved Documents for Part F and Part L were issued along with specified 'second
tier' guidance documents was also issued in 2006.
 A total rewrite of the Building Regulations was issued in 2010. However, this has since been
amended several times again, in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 & 2018.
 In December 2011, building regulation powers for Wales were devolved enabling Welsh
ministers the power to make building regulations in Wales.[1] Subsequent amendments by both
the UK government regarding the building regulations in England and by the Welsh Government
for Wales have caused the building regulations for the two countries to begin to diverge.
 A total rewrite of Approved Document for Part K (Protection against Falling, & Glazing
Safety, etc.) was also issued in 2012/2013. This new Part K now incorporates all that once was
within Part N (Glazing Safety) comes into force, on 1.10.15..
 2015 - Part Q ("security") comes into force, on 1.10.15.
 2017 - Part R ("High Speed Broadband Infrastructure") comes into force on 01.01.2017.
 2018 - A number of regulations were amended or created to introduce a restriction on the
use of combustible materials within external elevations and specific attachments in certain types
of buildings with storeys over 18m - this applied in England only.[2][3] This changed came in the
wake of the Grenfell Tower Fire. The part of the amendment relating to elements provided to
reduce heat gain was subsequently repealed by the UK High Court in November 2019.[4]

Approved documents and compliance[edit]

There are currently sixteen parts (sections) to the building regulations (E & W) and each is lettered
as Part A to Part Q (however there is no Part I or N) accompanied by an approved document for that
Part X. The approved documents usually take the form of firstly stating the legislation and then
providing a number of methods or ways which are deemed to satisfy the regulations.
The building regulations do not aim to stifle innovation, and each Approved Document's introduction
states this Government Aim. Compliance with the legislation is what is ultimately required and there
may be many ways of complying, other than just using the ways set out in the recommended
provisions within each of the approved documents. In reality, an innovative solution may be hard to
validate, and for most building work the tendency is to take the regulations literally.[citation needed]
For example, bathroom manufacturers produce a 'Doc M Pack' for disabled toilets, which reproduces
exactly the diagram in Part M,[5] and most public disabled toilets are now designed around this layout.
[citation needed]

Many manufactured products have agrément certificates issued by the British Board of

Agrément (BBA, a construction products certification service),[6] certifying compliance with relevant
standards. However, the BBA and other bodies (TRADA, BRE, Exova Warrington, etc.) may be able
to test and certify to "CE" harmonised EU standards. "CE" marking of all construction materials and
products is now a legal requirement, since 1 July 2013.
Most of the detailed information on the Building Regulations is now available
on http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/ where general public users can access
simplified building regulations guidance, and professional users have a better organised version of
what was on the former DCLG building regulations website, including the full versions of
the Approved documents and associated guidance, held on the DCLG website (now a constituent
part of the gov.uk website).

Part A. Structure[edit]
This Part requires buildings to be designed, constructed and altered so as to be structurally safe and
robust, and also so as not to impair the structural stability of other buildings.
It stipulates design standards that should be adopted for use on all buildings and additionally gives
simple design rules for most masonry and timber elements for traditional domestic buildings.
The weight of the building from the walls, furniture and people in the building will be transmitted to
the ground, so as not to cause instability to the building or other buildings.
Requires buildings to be built in a way ensuring no collapse will occur disproportionately to its cause.
Ground movement such as freezing of subsoil will not impair the stability of the building.
The Party Wall, etc. Act 1996 also controls walls and foundations being built near to existing
buildings. However, it is "civil law" and is not enforced by Building Control Bodies.

Part B. Fire safety[edit]

The building regulations consider five aspects of fire safety in the construction of buildings:
Requirement B1 - Means of early warning of fire and adequate means of escape from the building
(including emergency lighting and fire exit signage).
Requirement B2 - Control of Internally fire spread (linings)
The wall lining i.e. plaster, plasterboard or wooden boards on the walls and ceiling will resist the
spread of flames and give off only reasonable levels of heat, if on fire.
Requirement B3 - Control of Internal fire spread (structure) will be maintained during a fire, and fire
spread will be prevented.
Fire and smoke will be prevented from spreading to concealed spaces in a building's structure by
Fire Stopping and Fire Cavity Barriers.
Requirement B4 External fire spread – The external walls and roof will resist spread of fire to walls
and roofs of other buildings.
However, Not all buildings are required to have non-combustible exterior finishes.
Requirement B5 The building will be accessible for firefighters and their equipment, without delay.
Tall and Large buildings to have Fire Lifts and Fire Mains (Dry or Wet riser pipes), etc.
Regulation 7 Gudiance relating to compliance with regulation 7(2) and 7(3) are include with
Approved Document B following the 2018 amendments since these regulations are in relation to the
specification of the fire performance of external wall construction and specific attachments.
Regulation 7(1) continues to be covered by Approved Document 7.
Alternative means to comply[edit]
Using BS9999 : 2017 for non-residential buildings
Using BS9991 : 2015 for dwellings and other residential buildings
The use of a 'Fire Engineer' to computer model the building layout and smoke behavior in such a
building.
Building Regulation 38[edit]
This requires the designer and/or constructor to give the fire safety information (for a description of
the information required – see Appendix G of approved document B) to the Responsible Person,
upon completion. This is to enable a competent person to carry out a fire risk assessment.

Other fire laws (England & Wales and Scotland)[edit]

Once a building is occupied the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Fire Safety Order 2005
- FSO2005) requires a Fire Risk Assessment to be carried out, to take into account how the users
are actually using the building (and any fire risks that brings to the building) and the FSO2005
requires the "Responsible Person(s)" for the building to provide and maintain "suitable and sufficient"
general fire precautions. Scotland's Fire Safety legislation is very similar and only slightly different in
practical effect.
The FSO2005 is criminal law, and breaches of this law can result in the "Responsible Person" being
jailed for up to two years and fined up to £10,000 for each offence. Corporate offences may have
unlimited fines.
Enforcement is by the local fire authority. It may be necessary to exceed the recommendations of
the guidance[7] supporting Part B of Schedule 1 to Building Regulations, in order to achieve a suitable
and sufficient level of fire safety required under the FSO2005.