Frequently Asked Questions.
What
are the Building Regulations?
The Building Regulations are legal requirements aimed at achieving
minimum standards of construction. The main purpose of the
Regulations is to safeguard the health and safety of people in or
about buildings. They are also concerned with energy efficiency and
access and facilities for disabled people.
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What is the difference between building control
and planning?
Very often people are confused by the need to obtain 'approval from
the council' for their building work. The fact is that Building
Control and Planning are two separate types of service that control
building works. For the majority of proposed building works two
separate applications are necessary because you will require both
Building Regulations and Planning consent.
Planning
In general terms, the Planning Service controls the appearance of
buildings, their effect on the general environment and neighbouring
properties and the correct use applied to the land. Whether
planning permission is required or not is defined in complex
statutory regulations, although some small-scale development is
exempt. The best advice we can give is to contact the planning
officers who are here to help you and can advise whether planning
permission is needed for your proposal.
Building control
Again in general terms, the building control service ensures that
buildings are constructed properly and in accordance with current
standards & regulations. This is done by checking the
information provided with the application e.g. plans and then
inspecting the construction work as it progresses on site.
Principally the building regulations:
Safeguard the health and safety of people in
and around building
Conserve energy
Provide access and facilities for people with
disabilities
The vast majority of building works requires
building regulation approval with only a small amount of minor
works and structures being exempt. If you are in any doubt whether
or not your proposals require approval contact you local
office.
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How do I obtain Building Regulation
approval?
There are two ways of making an application for domestic work (see
Full plans or Building Notice application.) Application forms are
available from your Local Building Control Departments or by
downloading the relevant forms from this web site, on line
applications can also be made from here.
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Full plans or Building Notice
application?
Full plans
Prior to the commencement of work on site you will need to submit
two copies of plans showing full constructional details of the
proposed scheme together with the completed form and appropriate
charge. Unless you have a thorough working knowledge of the
regulations, and building construction in general, it is best to
seek professional advice in this regard.
A building control officer will check your
application and if the plans show compliance with the regulations
they will be approved. Should amendments or further information be
required, you will be asked to submit revised details in order that
they may approve your scheme.
There is a statutory time limit of 5 weeks
(extendable to 2 months with agreement) in which they must
determine your submission although their aim will always be to
process your application as quickly as possible.
Site inspections will be made when work
proceeds but with the Full Plans approach you have the assurance
that providing the work is carried out in accordance with the
approved plans the regulations will be satisfied.
Building notice
If you choose this option, no detailed plans are required as the
emphasis is on site supervision. You simply need to fill out a form
advising your Local Building Control Office of your intention to
carry out building work and supply a plan indicating the position
and size of the extension and provide the appropriate charge. The
Building Notice is suited to simple domestic schemes such as
internal alterations and small extensions. Plans/details will be
requested in some situations (e.g. structural calculations for loft
conversions/through rooms etc.) but only when necessary.
Without plans there is no detailed check of
the work before it is carried out and therefore no official
decision notice is issued. Whilst the Building Control Surveyor
will try to anticipate potential problems it is ultimately the
responsibility of the person carrying out the work to ensure that
the requirements of the regulations are satisfied.
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If I make a
Building Notice application, will the Building Control Officer tell
me how to carry out the work during his first
visit?
No - while we are always willing to offer help and advice you
should not expect to use the Building Control Officer as a
substitute for an Architect or designer.
If you are not confident that you (or your
builder) are fully conversant with the requirements of the
regulations, then we would strongly advise that you do not use a
Building Notice application.
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If you do not check plans on Building Notice
applications, why are the fees the same as for Full Plans
Applications?
As no plan check is made, additional reliance is placed on the
inspection stage of the process to ensure the Building Regulations
are complied with. This translates into a requirement for either
more inspections being necessary, or the inspections made taking
longer than would be the case with a Full Plans application; hence
the total cost is the same.
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When Can I start
work?
You may start work after you have submitted either a Building
Notice or a Full Plans application and at least 2 days notice has
been given of your intention to commence work (preferably in
writing). It will however be at your own risk until either the
Building Notice has been accepted or approval issued in the case of
a Full Plans application.
Either you or your builder should then notify
the Council at each of the stages listed below (where
appropriate):
- Commencement of work
- Foundation excavations prior to concreting
- Foundation concrete
- Oversite (ground floor) prior to concreting
- Damp proof course prior to covering
- Foul water drainage prior to backfilling
- Surface water drainage prior to backfilling
- Structural floor and roof timbers prior to
plaster-boarding
- Occupation prior to completion
- Completion of works
The Building Control Surveyor may also request
notification at other stages of the work that are not specifically
included within the Regulations e.g. roof timbers.
The above statutory framework for inspections
is obviously not appropriate for all types of work. For example, in
the case of loft conversions, after the commencement visit,
inspections of the structural elements will normally be required
prior to covering up.
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What do I do on
completion?
When your work is finished you should contact your Local Building
Control Office to arrange a final inspection. We recommend that any
final payments to builders only be made after the Building Control
Surveyor has carried out a satisfactory completion inspection. Once
they have confirmed that your work meets the required standards,
they will be pleased to issue you with a completion
certificate.
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If all goes well when should I pay the
builder?
We always recommend that you contact us and ask if there are any
outstanding items that we are not happy with before you make any
payments. So please do not hesitate to phone and check that we have
been along to inspect and that we are satisfied that the work
complies with the building regulations.
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Does the approval of plans permit me to build over
the boundary onto my neighbour's
property?
No. We are not responsible for establishing boundaries between
properties. If you find that your neighbour has built over your
boundary we suggest that you discuss the matter with them. If you
are unable to resolve the problem you should then seek legal advice
from a solicitor.
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What do I do if
my neighbour wants to do work to my party
wall?
Party walls come under separate legislation, which the Council
cannot deal with. We're happy to give you general advice but you
may need to contact a specialist party wall surveyor.
A copy of the
Party Wall Act 1996 can be viewed by clicking on this link.
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What happens if
my builder damages my neighbour's
property?
Your builder should have adequate insurance to cover damages to
property and injury to people. You should make sure that your
builder has this type of insurance. We have no control over this
aspect of the works and we would advise any aggrieved parties to
seek the advice of a solicitor.
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Do we get
value for money?
The Council employ
experienced and professional Building Control Officers to deal with
your application, who between them have a wealth of local
knowledge. Our officers spend a considerable amount of time
checking your plans, advising on how to comply with the Regulations
and, in particular, carrying out regular site inspection visits.
Remember that the charge is fixed no matter how difficult your
application may be to deal with and covers you for as many
inspection visits as the Building Control Officer feels necessary -
be that 1 or 100.
We are easy to contact, give expert advice and
respond the same day to your requests for a visit - few other
organisations can offer that degree of service. If you compare our
charges with those of calling out a professional surveyor just once
or twice, I hope you will agree that they are, in fact, more
reasonable than they at first appear.
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Is a Completion certificate the
same as a guarantee or warranty?
No. The completion certificate simply confirms that, as far as the
Council have been able to ascertain, the work on-site complies with
the current Building Regulations. This means that inspections will
have been carried out at the appropriate times, and that any
problems found were put right. The Council do not provide a
guarantee or warranty on the work, although we hope to be able to
offer such a scheme (at extra cost) in the near future.
If you are buying a new or altered property,
always make sure your solicitor checks that a completion
certificate has been issued for the work. This is particularly
important as if we later find defects; it may be you who is
responsible for correcting them rather than the previous owner!
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What if
things go wrong?
If problems arise during the progress of works our officers will do
their best to help find solutions, and will be happy to offer
advice to both you and your builder.
Ultimately however the Building Control
service is not a warranty organisation and if the building work
fails to meet your needs or expectations your redress would be
against your builder, not the Council. For this reason you should
take great care in selecting a builder who is reliable and who is
still likely to be around if you have problems two or three years
into the future.
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