Determinations and Appeals

Determinations and appeals are two procedures which provide for the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government or the Welsh Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government, as appropriate, to adjudicate in disputes between people carrying out building work subject to the Building Regulations and a building control body (i.e. either a local authority or a private sector approved inspector).

The purpose of and procedures for determinations, and for appeals against a local authority's refusal to relax or dispense with a requirement, are distinctly different and it is important if you are contemplating using them to have a clear understanding of each.

Before proceeding with an application for a determination, or an application to relax or dispense with a requirement, it is important that you should try to reach agreement by discussing with the local authority or approved inspector the issues which are causing the difficulty over achieving compliance. If appropriate, and if you have not already done so, you may wish to seek independent professional advice to assist these discussions. Only if agreement cannot be reached should you then consider whether the correct course of action is to proceed with an application to the Secretary of State/Welsh Ministers for a determination, or to apply to the local authority for a relaxation/dispensation (with the option of appealing to the Secretary of State/Welsh Ministers in the event of a refusal).</>

What are Determinations?

Determinations are decisions made by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (for cases arising in England) or the Welsh Ministers (for cases arising in Wales) to help resolve matters when a local authority or approved inspector says that your plans do not comply with one or more of the requirements of the Building Regulations but you believe that they do.

What are relaxations/dispensations and appeals?

If you believe that your work cannot be expected to comply with one or more of the requirements in the Building Regulations because they are too onerous or inappropriate, you have the right to apply to your local authority for a relaxation or dispensation of the requirement(s) in question in order for your completed building work to be considered to achieve compliance.

If  the local authority refuses your application you have a right of appeal (in England) to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government or (in Wales) to the Welsh Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government against that refusal, providing you do so within one month of that decision.