RenovationNotes

References

Planning & Permissions

152 sources in the library on planning & permissions. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 3 of 4.

  1. very strong RN-O86CR8

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. Paragraph 3.1.3 confirms the fee is payable at the time of application and that the verifier agrees with the applicant what drawings, specifications and other information are needed. Paragraph 3.1.4 requires a building warrant for a conversion as defined in schedule 2 of the building regulations even where no building work is proposed, which catches change of use jobs that England would treat as a material change of use under the Building Regulations 2010. Paragraph 3.1.5 requires an amendment to the warrant BEFORE work starts on any construction that departs from the approved drawings or specifications, and unamended changes can attract a building warrant enforcement notice. Offences can be reported to the Procurator Fiscal, though a building warrant enforcement notice under section 27 of the Act is the normal route, and it can only be served on the relevant person, so a builder working for a client cannot be served with one. Section 3.2 provides for pre-warrant meetings and customer agreements.

  2. very strong RN-6BGBFC

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, and this is where an England-based note goes wrong. A completion certificate confirms the building was constructed, demolished or converted in accordance with the warrant and the building regulations, and it is submitted by the relevant person, usually the owner or developer, not issued unprompted by the authority. It is an offence to submit a completion certificate known to be false, and an offence to occupy a new building, a conversion or an extension unless the completion certificate has been ACCEPTED by the verifier. Temporary occupation or use can be permitted under section 21 of the Act on application to the verifier, who takes account of mitigation such as means of escape in a partially completed building. The occupation bar does not apply to alterations, but a completion certificate for alterations must still be submitted before the warrant expires. Where an approved certifier of construction is involved, the relevant person must still certify completion. Section 9 notes that a local authority may operate a letter of comfort scheme for older unauthorised works, Scotland's practical counterpart to England's regularisation certificate.

  3. very strong RN-8T0SVC

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    Scotland's equivalent of the Approved Documents, and the reason a note that quotes only English rules is wrong for a fifth of the UK. This edition is in force from 6 April 2026 and applies to building warrants submitted on or after that date and to work not requiring a warrant commenced from that date. It gives guidance on achieving the standards set in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, arranged in sections rather than parts: section 3 environment (ventilation, drainage, condensation), section 4 safety (electrical safety and installations, glazing and danger from accidents, including clause 4.13 which invokes PAS 24 for security), section 6 energy (U-values for windows and doors) and section 7 sustainability. Scotland uses a building warrant and a completion certificate rather than a building notice, and has no Part P competent person scheme equivalent, so electrical work is covered by the warrant system instead.

  4. very strong RN-8DX7RR

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. The Scottish Government policy page that explains the technical handbooks expand the functional standards set by the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, and dates the current edition: new technical handbooks apply from 6 April 2026, amending Section 0 General, Section 2 Fire, Section 3 Environment and Section 4 Safety. Section 0 is updated for the amendment to Regulation 8 and a changed definition of traditionally constructed buildings; Section 2 gives effect to Simon and Richard's Law with extended guidance on conversions of traditional buildings, materials limiting fire spread and escape, and amends Standard 2.15 on automatic fire suppression; Standard 3.3 gains new flooding and groundwater guidance with a flooding annex; and clause 4.1.7 gains advice on letterplate positioning in new dwellings.

  5. very strong RN-LR1JGD

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. Published 25 March 2026, ISBN 9781806439690, in force from 1 April 2026, and it carries the revised table of fees applicable to all building warrant applications, so it is the correct source for what a Scottish building warrant costs. It explains the procedures underpinning the Scottish building standards system as set out in the Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. Scotland charges a building warrant fee scaled to the estimated value of the work, a structure with no direct England parallel now that England's building control charges are set locally by each authority or by a private registered building control approver.

  6. very strong RN-3Q8OST

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. Defines the six concepts that decide whether Scottish householder permitted development applies: principal elevation identifies the front of the dwellinghouse and the rear elevation is the one opposite it, with side elevations linking the two; fronting a road determines whether an elevation is in the public domain; front and rear curtilage defines the land used for comfortable enjoyment of the house; site coverage controls the total ground covered; and height and ground level fix how height is measured. Critically, the original dwellinghouse means the house as built, or as it stood on 1 July 1948 if built before that date, while the existing dwellinghouse means the house immediately before the proposed development, and Scotland's doubling-of-footprint and 50 per cent curtilage tests are measured against the original, so previous extensions count against the allowance.

  7. very strong RN-NDHDXT

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    The Scottish Government's 2024 circular and the definitive class list a Scottish reader needs, because Scotland does not use the English Class A to H lettering at all. Section 4 covers dwellinghouses, meaning detached, semi-detached and terraced houses but not flats, which are dealt with in section 5. Enlargements are Class 1A single storey ground floor extensions, Class 1B ground floor extensions of more than one storey, Class 1C porches and Class 1D roof enlargements. Improvements that are not enlargements are Class 2A access ramps and Class 2B alterations within a one metre bubble. Development within the curtilage runs Class 3A ancillary buildings such as sheds, garages and greenhouses, Class 3AA storage buildings of limited dimensions such as bike sheds, Class 3B building, engineering, installation or other operations, Class 3C hard surfaces, Class 3D decking and Class 3E gates, fences and walls. Paragraph 4.3 gives the working definition of enlargement as any development increasing the internal volume of the original dwellinghouse, including an attached canopy or roof with or without walls but excluding a balcony, so a car port is an enlargement and a balcony is not.

  8. very strong RN-EKQKEC

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    The Scottish permitted development classes for domestic microgeneration, which a garden building or garden energy note needs because Scotland's class numbering is entirely its own. Section 6 covers ground and water source heat pumps at Classes 6D and 6E, air source heat pumps at Class 6H, free-standing wind turbines at Class 6G, roof-mounted wind turbines on detached dwellinghouses at Class 6HC, solar panels on a dwelling at Class 6HA, solar panels on a building within the curtilage of a dwelling at Class 6HB, and flues for biomass heating systems at Class 6C and combined heat and power at Class 6F. Paragraph 6.2 is the one a garden note needs: free-standing solar panels within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse are covered by Class 3B, not by the section 6 classes. Paragraph 6.4 confirms that Classes 6D and 6E permit installation, alteration or replacement of a ground or water source heat pump and any associated pipes or apparatus within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse or a building containing a flat, with no additional restrictions on those rights. Paragraph 6.3 stresses that every limitation in a class must be met for the right to apply.

  9. very strong RN-GFMJD9

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND. The Scottish Government's authoritative plain-language guide to householder permitted development rights, published 28 May 2024, ISBN 9781836013143, with an errata of 20 June 2024 correcting the legislation tables for Class 1A section d on PDF page 21, Class 4B sections b and c on page 51, and paragraph 7.6 on page 73. It is the Scottish counterpart to England's Permitted Development Rights for Householders Technical Guidance and interprets the classes of Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992. Paragraph 2.1 makes the owner liable for remedial action up to demolition and restoration where work fails to comply, paragraph 2.2 notes rights are disapplied or limited in conservation areas, World Heritage Sites, National Scenic Areas and National Parks, and paragraph 2.3 explains Scotland's narrow prior notification and prior approval route.

  10. very strong RN-84BHGV

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, and the numbering has no England equivalent: Scotland puts escape under Standard 2.9, not Approved Document B. Clause 2.9.4 requires an escape window in every apartment on an upper storey not more than 4.5 metres above the adjacent ground, and in every inner room at that height, unless there is an alternative route of escape. The escape window must have an unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33 square metres and be at least 450 mm high and 450 mm wide, with the bottom of the openable area not more than 1100 mm above the floor; the route through may be at an angle. Above 4.5 metres an escape window is not accepted and clause 2.9.5 requires every apartment to have direct access to a protected enclosure with self-closing short fire resistance duration fire doors leading to an exit door. Above 7.5 metres clause 2.9.6 requires an alternative exit. Text verified identical in the April 2026 PDF handbook.

  11. very strong RN-ONL4C3

    Scottish Government (mygov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, last updated 24 November 2025. Scotland has no building notice or full plans choice and no private registered building control approvers: a building warrant must be obtained from the local council's building standards department BEFORE work starts, and starting work without one when required is an offence punishable by a fine. A warrant is needed for building a new home, extending a home, building or removing load-bearing walls, changing roofs, external walls or other structural elements, converting a loft or garage into a room, and demolition. Applications go through the eDevelopment portal, and the page lists all 32 Scottish councils plus their building standards departments as the verifiers. This directly contradicts an England-based note that offers a retrospective regularisation route or a choice of approved inspector.

  12. very strong RN-S85WJ5

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The governing Act for listed buildings and conservation areas in England and Wales. Section 7 restricts works to a listed building without authorisation, section 8 authorises works by listed building consent, section 10 governs applications and section 16 their determination. Section 9 makes carrying out restricted works without consent a criminal offence, and section 59 covers acts causing damage to a listed building. Section 66 imposes the duty on planning authorities to have special regard to the desirability of preserving a listed building and its setting, and section 72 the parallel duty to pay attention to preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of a conservation area. Sections 27 and 28 deal with compensation where consent is refused or modified, and Chapter IV with enforcement notices, now including temporary stop notice offences under sections 44AB and 44C.

  13. very strong RN-HSIYH3

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The instrument that rewrote Part R of Schedule 1 to add the gigabit duties, in force on 26 December 2022 and applying in England. Its Schedule Part 1 renames the heading to Part 9A as "Infrastructure for electronic communications", inserts new exemptions before regulation 44A, amends regulation 44C (the interpretation provision that defines major renovation works), amends regulation 55 (review of Part 9A and Part R), and substitutes Part R of Schedule 1 so that the old single requirement R1 is joined by requirements RA1 (gigabit-ready physical infrastructure) and RA2 (connection to a gigabit-capable network) for new dwellings. It also amends regulations 13 and 14 of the Building Regulations 2010, on the particulars accompanying a building notice and full plans, so the connectivity plan must be submitted, and amends Schedule 1 to the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 to match. A correction slip was issued on 22 November 2022. This is the source that dates the split between Approved Document R Volume 1 (new dwellings) and Volume 2 (other buildings and major renovation works).

  14. very strong RN-6OFYWG

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The instrument that first put broadband infrastructure into the Building Regulations, creating Part R of Schedule 1 and Part 9A of the Building Regulations 2010, which is why a whole-house renovation can carry a connectivity duty at all. Regulation 1 brings it into force on 6 April 2016, except regulation 2(19)(b) which came into force on 1 May 2016. It extends to England and Wales but does not apply to any building in Wales other than an excepted energy building as defined in the Schedule to the Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (No.2) Order 2009. Regulation 2 amends the Building Regulations 2010 and regulation 3 amends the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010. Cite this alongside SI 2022/984, which later substituted Part R to add the gigabit requirements RA1 and RA2 for new dwellings.

  15. very strong RN-FTUHBF

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The companion instrument to SI 2021/1391 that created Part S, infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles. Regulation 1 brings it into force on 15 June 2022 immediately after SI 2021/1391, extending to England and Wales and applying in England. Regulation 2(2) adds requirement S2 to the list in regulation 6(1)(a) of the Building Regulations 2010, so an EV charge point duty is triggered by a material change of use creating dwellings, alongside the existing P1 electrical safety duty. Regulation 2(3) inserts a new Part 9B with regulations 44D and 44E. Regulation 44D sets the cost cap for new residential buildings with associated parking: the number of charge points to be installed is the maximum possible at an average connection cost of GBP 3,600 or less per charge point, and where the cap bites, cable routes must instead be installed in the parking spaces that would otherwise have needed charge points. Regulation 44D(4) sets out how covered car parks are treated, with different rules above and below a threshold of 10 associated parking spaces. Regulation 44E applies requirement S2 to a building undergoing a material change of use into one or more dwellings, where the work touches a car park within the site boundary or the electrical infrastructure serving it, and subject to whether a charge point per dwelling can be accommodated within the incoming supply without upgrading its capacity.

  16. very strong RN-BWO1CR

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The instrument that made the 2021 changes real, so a note can date them exactly. Regulation 1 sets citation and commencement on 15 June 2022, extending to England and Wales but applying to buildings and building work in England. Regulation 11 amends Schedule 1: it adds "to a reasonable standard" to entry L1(b)(i), inserts new requirement L2 on on-site generation of electricity (systems must be appropriately sized, have effective controls and be commissioned to produce the maximum electricity reasonable in the circumstances), and inserts a whole new PART O OVERHEATING with requirement O1, reproduced in full and carrying NO limits on application. Regulation 4 inserts regulation 4(4) and 4(5), a rule renovation guides almost never mention: where Part L imposes a requirement on the work, then on completion the whole building must comply with Part F or be no more unsatisfactory in relation to Part F than before the work began, so a Part L job such as new glazing or wall insulation drags a whole-house ventilation duty with it. Regulation 8 inserts regulations 40A and 40B, requiring the person carrying out the work to give the owner information about an on-site electricity generation system, and about the Part O overheating provision, no later than five days after completion. Regulation 17 is the transitional provision: the amendments do not apply where a building notice or initial notice was given, or full plans deposited, before 15 June 2022, provided the work started before 15 June 2023.

  17. very strong RN-4F1NZC

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Article 3(1) is the operative grant: planning permission is granted for the classes of development described as permitted development in Schedule 2, subject to the Order and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. Article 3(2) makes that permission subject to any relevant exception, limitation or condition in Schedule 2. Article 3(5) removes permitted development where the building was erected unlawfully or the existing use is unlawful, which is why unauthorised works cannot themselves be a base for further permitted development. Article 3(6) bars forming or widening access to a trunk or classified road, 3(7) requires any separate statutory consent to be obtained first, 3(9) prevents Schedule 2 authorising demolition except under Part 11, 3(9A) and 3(9B) impose the 37 square metre minimum floor area and nationally described space standards on new dwellings, and 3(10) to 3(12) require EIA screening where relevant.

  18. very strong RN-RZS9QP

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Part 11 Class B permits any building operation consisting of the demolition of a building, but B.1 excludes it where: (a) the building was rendered unsafe or uninhabitable by the action or inaction of a person with an interest in the land and could be made safe by repair or temporary support; (b) the demolition is 'relevant demolition' for the purposes of section 196D of the Act, i.e. an unlisted building in a conservation area; (c) the building was last used as a drinking establishment (Use Classes Order article 3(6)(p) or (q)); (d) it was last used as a concert hall, live music venue or theatre; (e) it is a statue, memorial or monument in place for at least 10 years, with five exceptions including one within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse. This is the provision that makes conservation area demolition a planning application rather than permitted development.

  19. very strong RN-C7QLR2

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Class H permits the installation, alteration or replacement of a microwave antenna (satellite dish or similar) on a dwellinghouse or within its curtilage. Limits: no more than 2 antennas; a single antenna no more than 1 metre in length, or 0.6 metres if on a chimney; cubic capacity no more than 35 litres; on a roof with no chimney the antenna must not exceed the highest part of the roof, and where there is a chimney it is limited to the lower of the chimney top or 0.6 metres above the highest part of the ridge tiles. On article 2(3) land it is not permitted on a chimney, wall or roof slope fronting and visible from a highway, on a building over 15 metres high, or in the Broads where visible from a waterway.

  20. very strong RN-ERB4SL

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    SCOTLAND. Part 1 was substituted wholesale on 6 February 2012 by SSI 2011/357 and is the Scottish householder permitted development code, materially different from England's Class A. Class 1A allows a single-storey ground floor extension but not forward of the principal elevation or a road-fronting side elevation, not more than 3 metres beyond the rear wall for a terrace or 4 metres otherwise where any part is within 1 metre of the curtilage boundary, eaves not over 3 metres, height not over 4 metres, resulting ground coverage not more than twice the original dwellinghouse, front or rear curtilage coverage not over 50 per cent, and NOT AT ALL within a conservation area. Class 1B allows a multi-storey ground floor extension only where no part is within 10 metres of the curtilage boundary and the height does not exceed the existing house. Scotland has no 6 metre or 8 metre larger home extension prior approval route.

  21. very strong RN-ORRG93

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Section 211(1) makes it an offence to carry out prohibited acts on a tree in a conservation area, and section 211(4) applies the section 210 penalties as for a tree preservation order. Section 211(3) requires the person to serve notice on the local planning authority giving sufficient particulars to identify the tree, and the work is only lawful if done after the expiry of six weeks from the date of the notice but before the expiry of two years from that date, unless the authority consents earlier.

  22. very strong RN-NNZ5GT

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Section 78(1) gives the applicant a right to appeal to the Secretary of State where a local planning authority refuses planning permission (or permission in principle, or an approval required by a condition) or grants it subject to conditions. Section 78(2) allows an appeal where the authority has neither notified a decision within the prescribed period nor referred the application to the Secretary of State under section 77. The time prescribed for serving notice of appeal must not be less than 28 days from notification of the decision, or 28 days from the end of the prescribed period (or any agreed extension) for a non-determination appeal.

  23. very strong RN-HVZ7RL

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Acts of the Scottish Parliament

    SCOTLAND. The primary Act behind Scotland's building standards system, in force as amended to 7 September 2026 with section 36(3) still to be inserted by 2026 asp 14 section 7. Section 4 gives the Technical Handbooks their status as guidance documents and section 5 governs compliance with them. Section 7 creates verifiers and certifiers, sections 8 to 16 the building warrant regime including certification of design at section 11 and late applications at section 15, and sections 17 to 21 the completion certificate regime, with section 19 covering certification of construction and section 21 making it an offence to occupy or use a building without a completion certificate. There is no England-style building notice or full plans choice in Scotland: a warrant is applied for before work starts.

  24. very strong RN-4UGLYK

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Northern Ireland Statutory Rules

    NORTHERN IRELAND, and this is the fourth different householder planning fee in the UK. Made 11 March 2025 by the Department for Infrastructure under sections 223 and 247 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, coming into operation 1 April 2025. Category 4 charges £347 for each dwelling for the extension, improvement or alteration of an existing dwellinghouse, and Northern Ireland folds into that SAME category the erection of a building or other operations within the curtilage for ancillary purposes and the erection of gates, fences, walls or other means of enclosure, which Scotland and Wales charge separately. So the four nations stand at England £548, Wales £585, Scotland £371 and Northern Ireland £347. An outline application for a single dwellinghouse is £515 and a full application £1,035. Reduced fees and refunds rise from £76 to £78, advertisement consent from £226 to £231, and EIA development from £12,664 to £12,924.

  25. very strong RN-LBAKH4

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Northern Ireland Statutory Rules

    NORTHERN IRELAND, and Class A differs from England, Wales and Scotland alike. A single-storey rear extension may extend beyond the rear wall of the original dwellinghouse by no more than 4 metres for a DETACHED house or 3 metres for any other, must not exceed 4 metres in height, and must not come within 3.5 metres of a curtilage boundary with a ROAD opposite the rear wall. An extension of more than one storey is limited to 3 metres beyond the rear wall and must be at least 7 metres from the boundary opposite the rear wall, against Wales's 10.5 metres. Eaves must not exceed 3 metres within 2 metres of any boundary. A side extension must not exceed 4 metres in height or half the width of the original dwellinghouse. Class A expressly excludes ANY alteration to the roof, any deck, balcony, veranda or raised platform, any basement, any chimney, flue or soil and vent pipe, and any microwave antenna, so a Northern Ireland dormer or rooflight is not permitted development under this class. In a conservation area, World Heritage Site, AONB or National Park, cladding in stone, artificial stone, pebbledash, render, timber, plastic or tiles is excluded, as is any extension of more than one storey or over 4 metres or beyond a principal or side elevation. Condition A.3(b) requires any upper floor side-elevation window within 15 metres of a neighbouring curtilage boundary to be obscure glazed and non-opening below 1.7 metres above floor level. Northern Ireland has NO larger home extension prior approval route.

  26. very strong RN-BAHGYP

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Scottish Statutory Instruments

    SCOTLAND. Schedule 3 is Scotland's equivalent of England's exempt work and diverges sharply from it. Type 1 makes any work to or in a house warrant-exempt except work that increases floor area, demolishes or alters the roof, external walls or elements of structure, adversely affects a separating wall, changes the wastewater disposal system, or is to a storey more than 4.5 metres high. Types 3 to 5 exempt a detached single-storey building over 8 and up to 30 square metres, but not one within 1 metre of the house unless it is at least 1 metre from any boundary, not one containing a fixed combustion appliance or sanitary facility, and not a swimming pool deeper than 1.2 metres; for a flat or maisonette the separation is 3 metres. Type 6 exempts heating work below 50kW solid fuel, 45kW oil or 70kW net gas, but not work on a chimney, flue pipe or hearth, nor an oil storage tank over 90 litres.

  27. very strong RN-T7W376

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Scottish Statutory Instruments

    SCOTLAND. The instrument that sets Scotland's building standards, made under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, and the reason England's Approved Documents do not apply north of the border. Regulation 3 exempts certain buildings and services, regulation 5 introduces the descriptions of work not requiring a building warrant, regulation 8 covers fitness and durability of materials and workmanship, regulations 9 to 12 set the building standards for construction, demolition, services and conversion, and regulation 16 provides for relaxations. Schedule 1 lists exempted buildings, Schedule 3 the warrant-exempt work and Schedule 5 the mandatory building standards that the Technical Handbooks expand.

  28. very strong RN-GZLT9O

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Scottish Statutory Instruments

    SCOTLAND, and these figures contradict the England fees. Made 3 February 2026 and in force from 1 April 2026, amending SSI 2022/50. Category 2 of Table 1 sets the householder planning fee for the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of an existing dwelling at £371 for one dwelling and £742 for two or more, against England's £548 householder fee from the same date. Category 3 charges £371 for an outbuilding or other operation within the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse ancillary to its enjoyment, and £371 for gates, fences, walls or other means of enclosure along a curtilage boundary. Regulation 3 raises the flat fee from £357 to £371, regulation 4 raises the discretionary fees from £238 to £247 and from £119 to £124, and paragraph 9(1) from £714 to £742. New dwellings are £742 each for the first 10, then £557, then £310 above 49, capped at £185,524.

  29. very strong RN-6IHI71

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), Scottish Statutory Instruments

    SCOTLAND. The parent instrument for Scottish planning application fees, amended annually and most recently by SSI 2026/49 in force 1 April 2026. Part 2 covers payment of fees at regulation 3 and the planning authority's discretion to charge at regulation 4, with regulation 5 allowing fees to be waived or reduced and regulation 6 imposing a surcharge on retrospective applications, a Scottish feature England does not mirror. Part 3 lists the cases where no fee is payable, including regulation 7 for means of access for disabled persons and regulation 8 where permitted development rights have been restricted, so a Scottish householder who needs consent only because an Article 4 style restriction applies pays nothing. Schedule 1 carries the calculation rules and Part 3 of that schedule the tables of fees.

  30. very strong RN-DWRRP2

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. A Welsh Government collection of quick guides, first published 27 October 2017 and last updated 22 March 2023, saying for each common project whether building regulations approval is needed in Wales. It covers adverts and signs, basements, biomass fuelled appliances, boilers and heating, ceilings and floors, change of use, conservatories, decking, decorations, demolition, doors and windows, drains and sewers, electrics, extensions, external walls, fascias, fences gates and garden walls, flats and maisonettes, flues, fuel tanks, garage conversion, heat pumps, hydro electricity, insulation, internal walls, kitchens and bathrooms, lighting, loft conversions, micro combined heat and power, outbuildings, patio and driveway and paving your front garden. Use it instead of the England Planning Portal common projects pages for any Welsh job.

  31. very strong RN-IUO1B2

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. Most extensions require approval under the Building Regulations in Wales, with a limited set of exempt classes of new building and extension. The guide directs the reader to the separate Welsh quick guides for the elements an extension normally engages: doors and windows, drainage, electrics, external walls, internal walls, kitchens and bathrooms, and roofs. It confirms the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in Wales. Note that a Welsh extension also triggers consequential improvements under regulation 28 as applied by the Welsh Approved Document L, an obligation England reserves for buildings over 1000 square metres.

  32. very strong RN-2AZXB8

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. Building regulations approval is required to convert a loft or attic into a liveable space, and the guidance covers houses no more than two storeys high, with more extensive requirements for flats, maisonettes and houses over three storeys. The regulations are applied to ensure the structural strength of the new floor is sufficient, that the stability of the existing roof is not endangered, safe escape from fire, safely designed stairs to the new floor and reasonable sound insulation between the conversion and the rooms below. A liveable space includes a spare bedroom used infrequently. On boarding out for storage, existing ceiling joists tie the pitched roof members together and support the ceiling below and were not designed for significant load, so laying flooring boards over them may itself require a building regulations application, a point an England-based note on loft boarding usually treats as exempt. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in Wales as it does in England.

  33. very strong RN-Y1W23U

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES, and the householder figure contradicts both England and Scotland. In force from 1 December 2025, rounded to the nearest pound. Category 6, the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of existing dwellinghouses, is £585 where the application relates to one dwellinghouse and £820 for two or more, against England's £548 from 1 April 2026 and Scotland's £371. Category 7(a), operations including the erection of a building within the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse for ancillary purposes, or gates, fences, walls or other means of enclosure along a curtilage boundary, is £283 in each case. Category 1 charges £667 for each dwellinghouse for new dwellings, with a £16,675 base fee band above 25 dwellinghouses and a maximum of £203,380. A non-material amendment under section 96A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 costs £123 for a householder application and £242 otherwise. Site visits are charged at £493 or £166 per visit depending on category.

  34. very strong RN-J3IMCT

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. Published 20 October 2025. Confirms that Welsh planning fees changed on 1 December 2025 and now cover planning applications, amendments, deemed applications and site visits, all set out in the fee policy and fee document rather than in the England fee regulations. Some applications need no fee and others attract a reduced fee depending on type and circumstances, and paying too little makes the application invalid or delays it. Further guidance sits in the Welsh Development Management Manual, the Welsh counterpart to England's Planning Practice Guidance.

  35. very strong RN-VXP99P

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. First published 30 April 2014, last updated 29 May 2020. The Welsh Government's own householder permitted development landing page, hosting three documents that replace England's Planning Portal guidance for a Welsh job: Planning, a guide for householders (688 KB PDF, 2020), Permitted development for householders, technical guidance (2 MB PDF, 2018) and Householder permitted development rights, frequently asked questions (57 KB PDF, 2018). Wales retains the England-style Class A to Class H lettering of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 as it applies in Wales, unlike Scotland's numbered classes, but the numerical limits inside those classes have diverged from England since 2013.

  36. very strong RN-4FI6DR

    Welsh Government (gov.wales)

    WALES. Published 18 June 2026. New building regulations come into force in Wales on 1 JULY 2026, a different commencement from England's building control reforms, made by the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025 and the Building etc. (Amendment) (No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2025. The first introduces a requirement for approval before higher-risk building work can begin, known as Gateway 2, a building control approval application process, change control and mandatory reporting of safety issues during the work, a completion approval process known as Gateway 3, the golden thread of information, appeal procedures and transitional arrangements. The second sets roles, responsibilities and requirements for dutyholders involved in any controlled building work, so it reaches ordinary domestic projects and not only higher-risk buildings.

  37. strong RN-E6EZEI

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    The standard the conservation trade works to, and the one a listed-building or period-property note should name. BS 7913 is paywalled, so only the BSI catalogue page is public; it confirms the current edition is BS 7913:2013, published 31 December 2013, status Current, ISBN 978 0 580 75778 5, prepared by BSI committee B/560 and classified under ICS 91.040.99. The catalogue page states this is the SECOND edition, updated to align with current best practice, and that the standard describes best practice in the management and treatment of historic buildings, applying to historic buildings both WITH and WITHOUT statutory protection, which is the point most renovation articles miss when they treat conservation guidance as relevant only to listed buildings. Its named audience includes owners, users, occupiers and managers of historic buildings, architects, engineers, surveyors, building managers, conservators, planners and local authority building control officers. The listed descriptors show its coverage: conservation, legislation, maintenance, fire safety in buildings, costs, hazard prevention, inspection, repair, building maintenance, design, renovation, building specifications, contracts and records.

  38. strong RN-7KAKIH

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    Part 1 of the BS 8300 pair, covering the external environment rather than the building. Paywalled, so only the catalogue page is public; it confirms BS 8300-1:2018, published 31 January 2018, status Current. Scope covers key external features within the curtilage of or associated with a building or group of buildings, specifically parking provision, setting-down points, access routes to and around buildings and the approaches to entrances, plus wider external environment matters including street design, landscaping, way-finding and information, horizontal and vertical movement and public facilities. Its named audience is built environment professionals in planning, design and management of the external environment, particularly local authority planners in highways, street enhancement and open space departments, and the page notes it is used in producing Local Development Frameworks, client briefs and contract documents.

  39. strong RN-NIFJ8S

    BSI (British Standards Institution)

    STATUS: CURRENT. BS 8485:2015+A1:2019 was published 31 January 2019 and supersedes BS 8485:2015, which is withdrawn. It gives recommendations on ground gas site characterisation, risk assessment and the choice and design of integral gas protective measures to stop methane and carbon dioxide entering new buildings and to provide a safe internal environment, for designers, regulators and constructors. The A1:2019 revision added more detail on interpreting gas monitoring data and assigning the gas screening value, defined four building types with amended gas protection scores for the characteristic situations, added recommendations for reporting protection measures at design, installation and post construction verification stages, and added worked examples. It does NOT cover other hazardous ground gases (radon is separate, under BRE guidance and Approved Document C) nor methane and carbon dioxide arising from the building's intended use. Catalogue page confirms number, title, date, status and scope; the scoring tables are paywalled.

  40. strong RN-9GB5I7

    United Utilities

    A sewerage undertaker setting out its own build-over process, which is the practical authority for the consent a homeowner actually needs (the Water UK Sewerage Sector Guidance covers adoption, not build-over). The page states that United Utilities approval is required for building works within 3 metres of a public sewer or lateral drain. On access, it requires sufficient access points to the affected sewer, meaning manholes and rodding points; states that ideally buildings and extensions should not be sited where they would remove an existing point of access; and requires access points to be easily accessible and visible for use in an emergency. Where ground conditions are poor, the developer must arrange special design and construction plans so the pipe is protected from any risk of damage. On the route through building control, it explains that building control inspectors operating under the United Utilities Protocol agreement can approve build-overs that meet set criteria, and that where a proposal does not fit those criteria the inspector escalates it so United Utilities can deal with the developer directly, which is why a homeowner may find the sewer question handled inside their Building Regulations application rather than as a separate approach to the water company.