Building regulations

The Building Regulations are minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. They are developed by the government and approved by parliament.

The Building Regulations also contain a list of requirements (referred to as Schedule 1) that are designed to ensure minimum standards for health, safety, welfare, convenience, energy efficiency, sustainability and to prevent misuse, abuse or contamination of water supplies.

These regulations set national standards for building work, whether it be on a major new development or an extension or alterations to your home. They cover all aspects of construction, including foundations, damp-proofing, the overall stability of the building, insulation, ventilation, heating, fire protection and means of escape in case of fire. They also ensure that adequate facilities for people with disabilities are provided in certain types of building. In addition security and data infrastructure have been added.

Building regulation applications

Building regulation applications are needed for most construction projects. For a full list, please see the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) website. 

Local Authority Building Control (LABC)

We are part of Local Authority Building Control (LABC), a body that represents over 3500 professional local authority surveyors across England and Wales. LABC can provide the following additional services:

  • self building and new home warranty
  • acoustic advice and sound testing
  • fire risk assessments
  • product registration schemes

For further information, please visit the LABC website.

Technical guidance

Statutory documents containing:

The Approved Documents on the GOV.UK website provide guidance on ways to meet the building regulations. 

There is also a useful guide on how to extend your home.

Service standards

Our team consists of qualified, professional surveyors and administration staff, with many years of experience. We offer a professional, friendly and flexible service to our customers ensuring interaction with Building Regulations is as painless as possible. We:

  • provide Building Control for all types of commercial and domestic projects
  • offer the same high level of service whether you're a home owner carrying out minor alterations or a major developer
  • are available 24 hours a day 365 days a year to attend dangerous structure notifications
  • carry out enforcement work to ensure construction within the district is safe and compliant
  • are always available to offer free pre-application advice

To ensure we provide an independent, publicly accountable, mobile, flexible and professional service we adhere to the following standards:

National Performance Standards

ISO 9001 Standards (accreditation attained in February 2019)