Legislation

There are a number of pieces of legislation that relate to the standards of premises or construction and, depending on the type of premises and whether any building work is being carried out, one or more could apply at any given time.

New or altered premises

The Building Regulations are made under powers provided in the Building Act 1984, and apply in England and Wales. The current edition of the regulations is 'The Building Regulations 2000' (as amended) and the majority of building projects are required to comply with them.

The Building Regulations contain various sections dealing with definitions, procedures, and what is expected in terms of the technical performance of building work.

For example, they:

• Define what types of building, plumbing, and heating projects amount to 'Building Work' and make these subject to control under the Building Regulations
• Specify what types of buildings are exempt from control under the Building Regulations
• Set out the notification procedures to follow when starting, carrying out, and completing building work
• Set out the 'requirements' with which the individual aspects of building design and construction must comply in the interests of the health and safety of building users, of energy conservation, and of access to and use of buildings

Checking that the Building Regulations have been complied with is done by Building Control Bodies – either based in the Building Control department of the local authority or established as an "Approved Inspector" in the private sector.

Certain types of building work close to or directly affecting the boundary or party wall of premises may also be covered by the "Party Wall Act" which places obligations on people carrying out work.

The recently introduced "Sustainable & Secure Buildings Act" also has powers that could affect new and altered premises.

Some non-domestic premises may also be subject to Local Acts.

Existing premises

Existing domestic premises (housing) may well be covered by the Housing Act, enforced typically by the local housing authority. Existing non-domestic premises are also likely to be covered by general fire safety law.  For both, see the Communities and Local Government (CLG) website.

More detail

For more detail about the legislation, switch to the Professional User section of the Planning Portal.

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