Planning on making significant improvements to a property? Retrofit a new heating system? Build a large extension? Then you will need to comply with building regulations, known as building controls. These regulations are the minimum legal requirements for the construction and alteration of buildings. Fail one, and you risk costly repairs to your custom home plans.
In this guide, we will cover practical advice on obtaining building control approval and the best practices to ensure you pass all inspections.
Cosmetic and repair work, like replacing flooring, replastering, replacing boilers, or installing blinds, do not require approval, as these don’t affect the structure, energy efficiency, and utilities of a building. The following areas are governed by building regulations:
Remember that building regulations are separate from planning permissions. Even if the work does not require planning permission, it may still need regulatory approval. You can visit the government’s website for specific details on work that requires approval.
Yes, your local authority and the Building Safety Regulator can charge you with failure to comply with regulations. Penalties can range from fines to being forced to replace or remove non-compliant work. Whichever outcome, you will face a high price if work is found to be non-compliant. You can appeal, especially if you have architectural house plans that were approved in a full plans application.
A section 36 notice, mandating the replacement or removal of non-compliant work, can be issued up to 10 years after the completion. Though some homeowners sneak internal or back-garden work, which is less likely to be noticed by the local authority, it will be noticed during the sale or refinancing of the property and significantly affect value.
The straightforward route is to submit architectural house plans to your local authority and gain approval. The secondary route is to give notice, then rely on the final build inspections to pass for you to obtain approval. Whichever route you choose, a registered building inspector will analyse the work at its various stages and inform you of any non-compliance.
Submitting a full plans application is the better option, as it reduces the risk of carrying out work that goes against regulations, helping to avoid costly fixes. Furthermore, it gives you peace of mind, knowing your custom home plans comply with regulations before work begins, and before you pay your contractors. It certainly saves you from the anxiety of the final build inspections.
Architectural house plans don’t specifically need to come from a registered architect firm, but they will need to be technical and precise, otherwise they will be rejected. For small, straightforward projects, like kitchen alterations or lean-to porches, this is feasible. For larger projects, and certainly for house extensions, you will likely trip up without expertise.
In fact, the most common reasons building control plans are rejected are due to poor or missing detail, measurement and calculation errors, and the inclusion of non-compliant designs. A good architect firm like Johnson Design Partnership would not make these types of mistakes so easily.
Hiring an architect firm like Johnson Design Partnership at the very beginning of your project almost guarantees that your custom home plans will be compliant with building control. Your architect will provide architectural house plans with the right amount of detail and expertise required for a successful full plans application.
Johnson Design Partership’s house extension architects are experienced with creating innovative, unique designs that are fully compliant with building control. We can assess the best approach for your space, identify potential issues, and manage the application and full build on your behalf. If you are planning a home extension or extensive retrofit, contact Johnson Design Partership today.
