RenovationNotes

References

Managing the Project

187 sources in the library on managing the project. 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 2 of 5.

  1. very strong RN-Z2OY0Q

    Homes and Communities Agency with Ove Arup and Partners

    the regional adjustment factors the cost book uses to carry a national rate to a region, Outer London 1.00 and Inner London 1.08 against Northern 0.86 and Wales 0.90. It is cited as the regional half of the book's derived London trade day rates rather than for the demolition costs the guidance is named for, which is why a London plasterer's rate points here

  2. very strong RN-WAUO83

    Homes England

    Establishes what the government's housing and regeneration agency actually does, which matters because renovation articles often name Homes England as a source of homeowner grants when its remit is different. Its stated functions are to use its powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to form partnerships bridging public and private sector delivery of new homes and regeneration; to champion sustainable, well-designed homes and places; and to support a more resilient, diverse and innovative housing sector by helping new market entrants and small and medium-sized enterprises grow, encouraging greater use of modern methods of construction, and promoting attention to building safety. It names its partners as local authorities, housebuilders, investors and developers, not individual homeowners, and it now also operates the National Housing Bank. Its strategic plan sets out its mission and strategic objectives.

  3. very strong RN-DSFI2B

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    This is the part of the Building Regulations that catches a whole-house renovation and is almost never mentioned in renovation guides. Requirement R1 of Schedule 1 applies to the erection of buildings AND to major renovation works to buildings, including existing dwellings, except where requirement RA1 (new dwellings) applies. Regulation 44C of the Building Regulations 2010 defines major renovation works as works at the end-user location encompassing structural modifications of the entire in-building physical infrastructure, or of a significant part of it. The duty is to provide in-building physical infrastructure from the service provider access point to the occupier network termination point capable of hosting copper, fibre or wireless delivering broadband speeds greater than 30 Mbps (paragraph 1.2); no cabling, equipment or anything beyond the network termination point is required (paragraph 1.4), and a multi-dwelling building undergoing major renovation must also have a common access point. Paragraph 1.5 exempts Schedule 2 Classes 2 to 7 work (sheds, domestic greenhouses, garages, conservatories and other small detached buildings with no sleeping accommodation), scheduled monuments under section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas under sections 1 and 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 where compliance would unacceptably alter character or appearance, and major renovation works where the cost of compliance would be disproportionate to the benefit, which must be demonstrated to the building control body.

  4. very strong RN-M9H2XK

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    Non-statutory guidance published 13 July 2026 and updated 31 July 2026 when the PDF was replaced by an HTML version, applying to England, issued as an annex to the Awaab's Law Phase 2 guidance for social landlords. Its key date is that Phase 2 of Awaab's Law comes into effect on 30 November 2026, which extends the duty beyond the damp and mould and emergency hazards of Phase 1 to a wider set of hazards. The document sets the thresholds a social landlord uses to triage each hazard, which is the practical test of whether a reported defect starts the statutory repair clock. Useful for distinguishing what social tenants can require of a landlord from what a private homeowner or private tenant can, since Awaab's Law applies to the social rented sector.

  5. very strong RN-3MHLSF

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The 8 page document that sets out what a competent person scheme operator must satisfy, and it is what connects UKAS accreditation to the schemes a homeowner meets. Records that schemes are authorised under paragraph 4A of Schedule 1 to the Building Act 1984 and named in Schedule 3 to the Building Regulations 2010 as amended, and that in all cases demonstration must be sufficient to meet BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012, the product certification body standard. Condition 1 requires the scheme operator to achieve and maintain UKAS accreditation to BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012, within one year of authorisation for an extension to an existing scheme or within two years for a new scheme operator, with a UKAS pre-assessment submitted with the application. Condition 3 requires assessors and inspectors to be competent at least to the equivalent level in the relevant sector Minimum Technical Competence assessment procedure. Condition 4 requires a transparent fee structure, self-financing within not later than five years of authorisation, and use of registrants' registration and notification fees only for the benefit of registrants or the sector. Condition 5 requires documented management of conflicts of interest, noting the risk where a scheme is owned by a larger commercial, trade or professional body. In force for any UKAS assessment begun on or after 1 April 2016.

  6. very strong RN-57XOOI

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    Planning practice guidance on CIL, last updated 17 June 2026. Confirms the self-build exemption for a new dwelling built by someone who will occupy it, provided the exemption is claimed and a commencement notice submitted before work starts. Householder extensions under 100 square metres fall within the minor development exemption; larger residential extensions can claim exemption under regulations 42A and 42B where the owner occupies the house as their sole residence. A late commencement notice triggers a surcharge of 20 per cent of the notional chargeable amount, capped at £2,500.

  7. very strong RN-0D3FRR

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The publication page for the conditions a competent person self-certification scheme operator must meet, applying to England, first published 6 June 2012 and last updated 1 April 2016, from which date the conditions bite on any UKAS assessment begun on or after 1 April 2016. Hosts two documents: the main Competent person schemes conditions of authorisation of April 2016, an 8 page PDF of 289 KB, and a separate Building regulations: air tightness testing schemes conditions of authorisation of 5 pages and 141 KB, added 31 July 2014, because air tightness tester schemes carry different requirements from other types of work. Useful for establishing that a competent person scheme is a government-authorised, UKAS-accredited certification body rather than a trade membership list.

  8. very strong RN-WDQPUZ

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The only official series on how large the competent person schemes actually are, collected every 6 months from the schemes authorised in schedule 3 of the Building Regulations 2010 as amended, covering total registered membership at the end of each period and the number of jobs those members undertook. Published 12 December 2012 and last updated 6 June 2018, with the latest document a 24 page PDF covering 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2018, so the series has not been refreshed since 2018 and any current membership figure quoted from it is dated. Three caveats matter for anyone citing the numbers: registered membership is counted by business not by individual, so the number of competent individuals is higher than the membership figure; the statistics combine all types of work except electrical installations for each scheme operator to avoid double counting members and notifications, because many members do more than one type of work; and schemes have changed over the collection period, so past and current data are not always meaningfully comparable.

  9. very strong RN-0RWQTJ

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    Statutory guidance published 23 June 2026, applying to England, issued under section 9 of the Housing Act 2004, which local authorities must have regard to when assessing hazards, and which replaces the previous operating guidance issued in 2006. The critical correction it carries is the hazard count: the HHSRS now covers 21 potential hazards, not the 29 in the 2006 guidance, and Part 2 contains a hazard profile for each of the 21. Confirms that a local authority must take enforcement action where it finds a category 1 hazard and has a power, not a duty, to enforce category 2 hazards. Issued in three parts: Part 1 an introductory guide (24 pages) on the theory, principles and assessment process; Part 2 a technical guide for assessors (174 pages) with the hazard profiles; Part 3 a supplementary guide to the hazard of fire and explosions (66 pages).

  10. very strong RN-B869UP

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The government plain-language map of the Building Regulations system in England, written after the Hackitt review called for the old manual to be revised, and split into Volume 1 (overview, chapters 1 to 8) and Volume 2 (further guidance, chapters A to F, plus key terms in Appendix I and references in Appendix II). It confirms that the Building Act 1984 sets the enforcement powers, that the Building Regulations 2010 contain 15 technical requirements in Schedule 1 each lettered as a Part, and that regulation 3 defines building work. Chapter 3 gives the list a renovation note can cite verbatim for when approval is likely to be needed: replacing consumer units or installing new circuits, new plumbing and waste connections, changing circuits near a bath or shower, installing ventilation or air conditioning, replacing windows and doors, replacing pitched or flat roof coverings, installing or replacing a heating system, adding extra radiators, removing a chimney breast, removing a wall (load bearing and sometimes non-load bearing) and creating a through lounge; it also confirms that new loft insulation unconnected to other building work is not checked by a building control body although it must still comply. Chapter 4 states that where work is done under a competent person scheme the installer or scheme operator notifies the local authority and issues a completion certificate within 30 days of completion, and that if work has already started or finished without notification an approved inspector cannot be used, leaving only local authority building control, which is not obliged to approve work already carried out. Chapter 3 also confirms courts can impose unlimited fines for non-compliance. Note the manual predates the Building Safety Act 2022 changes, so it still uses the term approved inspector rather than registered building control approver.

  11. very strong RN-26UWTU

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    The GOV.UK landing page for Approved Document K, published 3 January 2013, ISBN 978 1 85946 484 7, covering protection from falling, collision and impact, including the design of staircases, ladders, ramps, guarding and vehicle barriers; this edition absorbed Approved Document N on glazing and some overlapping Approved Document M guidance. Since April 2023 the Building Safety Regulator has a duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to keep the safety and standards of all buildings in England under review, which includes advising government on Approved Document updates. The linked PDF sets the figures a loft conversion note needs: the maximum pitch for a private stair is 42 degrees (Table 1.1 note 1); the normal relationship for rise and going is twice the rise plus the going between 550mm and 700mm; means of escape routes need a minimum clear headroom of 2m except in doorways (paragraph 1.12); and paragraph 1.13 with Diagram 1.4 allows reduced headroom for loft conversions in dwellings where there is not enough space, satisfied at 1.9m at the centre of the stair width falling to 1.8m at the side. Archived editions of Approved Documents K and N are at the National Archives.

  12. very strong RN-N39C7H

    Office for National Statistics

    ONS monthly and quarterly construction output bulletin, edition released 13 August 2026 covering June 2026 output, new orders and the Construction Output Price Indices for Quarter 2 (April to June) 2026; next release 11 September 2026. Reports total construction output up 0.3% in Q2 2026 on Q1 2026, with new work up 0.4% and repair and maintenance up 0.2%; five of nine sectors grew, infrastructure new work leading at 1.9%. Monthly output fell 0.1% in June 2026, after falls of 0.8% in May and 0.1% in April. Carries a 13 August 2026 correction notice about a public housing new work data error from January 2022 that raised the output level by about 1.2%.

  13. very strong RN-GMSJMF

    Planning Portal (MHCLG and TerraQuest)

    Planning Portal's statement of the permitted development limits for a loft conversion, which fall under Schedule 2, Part 1, Class B of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 as amended, covering the enlargement of a dwellinghouse by an addition or alteration to its roof. Class C governs any other alteration to the roof and Class AA governs additional storeys. Permitted development does not apply where the building contains flats or is a flat, where additional storeys have already been added under permitted development, where the house was created from a non-residential use or built as a new dwellinghouse under permitted development, or on Article 2(3) designated land. The limits are: materials similar in appearance to the existing house; total enlargement including any previous enlargement not exceeding the original roof space by more than 40 cubic metres for terraced houses or 50 cubic metres otherwise; not exceeding the height of the existing roof; not extending beyond the existing roof slope on the principal elevation where it fronts a highway; no verandas, balconies or raised platforms; no installation, alteration or replacement of a chimney, flue or soil and vent pipe; and side-facing windows obscure-glazed and, if opening, 1.7m above the floor.

  14. very strong RN-I3VUJ8

    Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service

    Scotland's equivalent of the small claims track, and the figures differ sharply from England and Wales. A Simple Procedure claim can be made for payment of a sum of money where the value of the claim is 5,000 pounds or less, or for delivery or recovery of moveable property or an order to make someone do something, but in each of those cases only where there is an alternative money claim of 5,000 pounds or less. Where the value of the claim is over 5,000 pounds the ordinary cause procedure must be followed instead, so a Scottish homeowner with a 7,000 pound builder dispute is not in the simple track at all, unlike an English claimant whose small claims track runs to 10,000 pounds. Claims are made in the sheriff court by a claimant against a respondent, decided by a sheriff or summary sheriff, and no solicitor is required. New rules apply to claims initiated on or after 31 May 2023, and claims should be submitted through Civil Online, with sheriff approval needed to proceed on paper. Advises trying to settle first and considering Alternative Dispute Resolution, to which the sheriff may also refer parties after the claim form is lodged.

  15. very strong RN-NBV4MJ

    Scottish Government

    The Scottish equivalent of English competent person self-certification, and it works differently in ways every England-written note misses. Scotland uses a building warrant system under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, with roles split between verifiers, approved building professionals (approved bodies and approved certifiers), local authorities and building owners. Certification in Scotland is optional, not the default, and covers design or construction, applying only where the work requires a building warrant; the works that can be certified are listed on the Scottish Government Certification Register, and the Scottish Government maintains the only authoritative list of registered approved building professionals. The benefit stated is that the work is certified by qualified building professionals as complying with regulations. Related guidance includes the Certification Handbook, Procedural Guidance on Certification covering what to submit with a building warrant application, and Modern methods of construction guidance for verifiers and certifiers. Applications for building warrants and completion certificates are submitted online through the eBuildingStandards.scot portal via an eDevelopment account.

  16. very strong RN-PFL4Z7

    Scottish Government (gov.scot)

    SCOTLAND, and it replaces England's Part P competent person scheme, which does not apply in Scotland at all. Published 1 May 2012, third edition, 48 page PDF, 683.6 kB. The handbook governs Scotland's two certification routes under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003: approved certifiers of design, used for structural design and for energy, and approved certifiers of construction, used for electrical installations and for drainage, heating and plumbing. A certificate from an approved certifier is accepted by the verifier as conclusive evidence of compliance for that part of the work, reducing what the verifier checks, but it does not remove the need for a building warrant or for the relevant person to submit the completion certificate. Scheme providers are listed on the certification register at certificationregister.co.uk. Contact is buildingstandards@gov.scot or 0131 244 6511.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  21. very strong RN-W0DK4I

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The provision that changed what a homeowner actually owes an insurer, and the correction to every article still saying you must disclose all material facts. Section 2(2) imposes a single duty on the consumer: to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. Section 2(4) states expressly that this duty replaces any duty relating to disclosure or representations by a consumer to an insurer that existed in the same circumstances before the Act applied, so the old volunteered-disclosure regime is gone for consumer insurance and the burden shifts to the insurer to ask clear questions. Section 2(3) provides that failing to comply with the insurer's request to confirm or amend particulars previously given is itself capable of being a misrepresentation, which is what catches a homeowner who ignores a renewal notice after an extension or loft conversion. In force from 6 April 2013 by S.I. 2013/450, with section 2(5) omitted from 12 August 2016 by the Insurance Act 2015.

  22. very strong RN-WUJM74

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    Section 52(1) applies where the contract does not expressly fix the time for the service to be performed or say how it is to be fixed, and where no information treated as included under section 50 fixes the time either. In that case section 52(2) treats the contract as including a term that the trader must perform the service within a reasonable time, and section 52(3) makes what is reasonable a question of fact. Section 52(4) points to section 54; the remedy for breach of the reasonable time term is a price reduction under section 56, not repeat performance. This is the provision to cite when a builder has no contractual completion date and has overrun.

  23. very strong RN-43Q4DG

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The definitive list of what counts as a statutory nuisance in England and Wales, which is the legal hook for most neighbour and building-work complaints. Section 79(1) names, among others: (a) any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance, which is the route used against damp and disrepair; (b) smoke emitted from premises; (c) fumes or gases emitted from premises; (d) dust, steam, smell or other effluvia arising on industrial, trade or business premises; (e) any accumulation or deposit; (fb) artificial light emitted from premises, which covers security lighting; (g) noise emitted from premises; and (ga) noise from a vehicle, machinery or equipment in a street. Each limb requires the matter to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance. Section 79(1) also places a duty on every local authority to inspect its area for statutory nuisances and, where a person living in its area complains, to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to investigate. Section 79(1A) excludes matters caused by land being in a contaminated state, and section 79(2) excludes Crown defence premises from the smoke, artificial light and noise limbs.

  24. very strong RN-9WXESB

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The private route that lets an individual go to the magistrates' court directly, without waiting for the council, when aggrieved by a statutory nuisance; in Scotland the equivalent is a summary application to the sheriff. If satisfied the nuisance exists, or that though abated it is likely to recur, the court must make an order requiring the defendant to abate it within a specified time and to execute any works necessary, or prohibiting recurrence, and may also impose a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. Section 82(3) allows the court, where the nuisance makes premises unfit for human habitation, to prohibit their use for habitation until they are made fit. Section 82(4) fixes who is sued: normally the person responsible, but (b) where the nuisance arises from any defect of a structural character it is the owner of the premises, and (c) where the person responsible cannot be found, the owner or occupier. Section 82(5) makes each of several responsible persons liable even where their own contribution would not by itself be a nuisance.

  25. very strong RN-LOJL3V

    The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)

    The statutory adjudication timetable, which is fast by design and is why builders and subcontractors use it against each other, though section 106 excludes contracts with a residential occupier so a homeowner cannot rely on it unless their contract adopts it voluntarily. A party may give notice at any time of an intention to refer a dispute, dispute including any difference. The contract must provide a timetable aimed at appointing the adjudicator and referring the dispute within 7 days of that notice, require the adjudicator to reach a decision within 28 days of referral or a longer agreed period, and allow the adjudicator to extend the 28 days by up to 14 days with the consent of the referring party. The adjudicator must act impartially and may take the initiative in ascertaining the facts and the law, and may correct a clerical or typographical error in the decision. The decision is binding until the dispute is finally determined by legal proceedings, arbitration or agreement, and the parties may agree to treat it as final. The adjudicator and their employees and agents are not liable except for acts or omissions in bad faith. Where a contract fails to comply with subsections (1) to (4), the adjudication provisions of the Scheme for Construction Contracts apply instead.

  26. 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.

  27. very strong RN-3APQ6X

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

    SCOTLAND, and there is no England equivalent: England relies on leases and service charges where Scotland legislates for flat ownership directly. Sections 1 to 3 fix tenement boundaries and pertinents by default, so ownership of the roof, close and solum is settled by statute rather than by title alone. Section 4 applies the Tenement Management Scheme in Schedule 1 wherever the title deeds are silent, and section 4A lets a local authority pay a share of scheme costs. Sections 7 to 10 abolish the common law of common interest for tenements and replace it with a statutory duty at section 8 to maintain any part providing support or shelter, a prohibition at section 9 on interfering with support or shelter, and a cost recovery right at section 10. Sections 11 to 15 set when liability for repair costs arises, bind successors at section 12, allow a Notice of Potential Liability for Costs at section 13 and give a former owner a recovery right at section 14. Sections 5 and 6 route disputes to the sheriff.

  28. very strong RN-OLMVVL

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

    SCOTLAND. The default rules for organising and paying for common repairs in a Scottish tenement, in force since 28 November 2004. Rule 1.2 defines scheme property and rule 1.4 a scheme decision; maintenance expressly includes repairs, replacement, the installation of insulation, cleaning, painting, routine works and gardening, but not demolition, alteration or improvement unless reasonably incidental. Rule 2.2 allocates one vote per flat and rule 2.5 makes a scheme decision by simple majority of all votes allocated, so a single objecting owner cannot block a repair. Rule 2.6 requires at least 48 hours notice of a meeting, and rule 2.10 lets any owner who did not vote in favour and who would bear not less than 75 per cent of the costs annul the decision, within 21 days of a meeting they attended. Rule 4.1 lists the recoverable scheme costs including common insurance and door entry systems. Rule 4.2 shares maintenance costs equally among the flats unless the largest flat's floor area is more than one and a half times the smallest, in which case liability is apportioned by floor area; rule 4.3 applies that same floor-area test to the roof over the close.

  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-MZWVT0

    Valuation Office Agency, HMRC (GOV.UK)

    Published 22 January 2016 and last updated 15 June 2026, applying to England and Wales, this is the authority that corrects two common claims. First, on rebanding after an improvement: bands are based on the open market price on 1 April 1991 in England and 1 April 2003 in Wales, and if a property has increased in size since it was first assessed it may move to a higher band when it is next sold, so an extension does not trigger an immediate rebanding of the current owner. Second, on Council Tax during works: if the property is occupied the band will not be deleted even if significant repair or renovation works are underway, and only where the property is unoccupied and either beyond repair or undergoing major works making it uninhabitable can the owner apply to have the band removed. Reproduces the full band tables: England Band A up to 40,000 pounds through Band H over 320,000 pounds; Wales Band A up to 44,000 pounds through Band I over 424,000 pounds, Wales having nine bands to England's eight. Assessments are based on size, layout, character, location, change of use and the 1991 or 2003 value, and the Valuation Office does not use property price indexes.

  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-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.

  33. 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.

  34. very strong RN-C01OHV

    Welsh Revenue Authority

    Land Transaction Tax replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales from 1 April 2018 and is collected and managed by the Welsh Revenue Authority for the Welsh Government. First published 21 September 2017 and last updated 25 November 2024. The current LTT threshold is 225,000 pounds for residential properties where the buyer does not own other property, and 225,000 pounds for non-residential land and property. The correction most often needed: there is no first-time buyers' relief in Wales, unlike England and Northern Ireland. Higher residential rates apply where the buyer already owns one or more residential properties, though not normally where they are replacing a main residence. LTT is a self-assessed tax and a return must be sent even where there is nothing to pay, except for certain transactions that need no return. Specific reliefs exist for multiple dwellings, group structures and charities. Since 3 July 2023 solicitors and conveyancers can only file LTT online, and the WRA publishes a postcode checker to establish whether a property is in Wales.

  35. strong RN-L6FHQQ

    Architects Registration Board

    ARB's public search of the Architects Register, which ARB describes as the definitive list of all UK architects: if someone is not on the Register they are not an architect. The Register can be searched by an architect's name or by location. ARB is the statutory regulator that also publishes the Architects Code: Standards of Conduct and Practice, sets the annual retention fee, requires professional indemnity insurance, runs the CPD scheme, prosecutes misuse of the title and publishes a table of prosecutions, and handles public complaints through its Professional Conduct Committee. This is the check to run before paying anyone advertising as an architect.

  36. strong RN-602XV1

    Financial Conduct Authority

    The register to check before accepting finance arranged by a builder, showroom or installer. Confirms that in the UK almost all financial firms must be authorised or registered by the FCA, and that the tool shows both whether a firm is authorised and whether it has permission to provide the specific services being offered. Sets out the tool's limits candidly: it cannot confirm whether Financial Services Compensation Scheme or Financial Ombudsman Service protection will apply, it omits products and services offered only to other firms, published crypto restrictions, historic fines, the right to approve financial promotions and the ability to handle client money, all of which sit on the fuller Financial Services Register along with information on individuals. Notes that certain financial products are not regulated at all and so do not appear, that updates take on average 24 hours, and that some information is supplied by firms so accuracy is not guaranteed.

  37. strong RN-1EZXCO

    Financial Conduct Authority

    The regulator's 2026 multi-firm review of the product most often sold as a home improvement loan, published 12 March 2026 and updated 13 March 2026. Establishes the market facts a finance note should cite: second charge mortgages let a homeowner borrow against equity without changing their main mortgage, they are typically less than 4 per cent of regulated mortgage sales, they tend to carry higher interest rates than first charge mortgages, and consumers mostly use them to consolidate debt rather than to fund works. Warns that these customers often carry a high level of debt so a significant proportion may have characteristics of vulnerability including low financial resilience. The FCA reviewed quality of advice, robustness of affordability assessments, the role of intermediaries, record keeping and intermediary fees, sampling firms covering over 40 per cent of second charge advice firms and around 50 per cent of second charge lenders, and found evidence of poor practices creating a risk of poor customer outcomes. Frames expectations against the Consumer Duty and the Mortgage Conduct of Business rules, and follows a 2018 Dear CEO letter to second charge lenders and a 2025 Portfolio Letter to mortgage intermediaries.

  38. strong RN-S3JMRF

    MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme)

    How the standards behind MCS certification are set and changed, which matters because MCS certification is a precondition of the main heat pump and solar grants. MCS Standards are owned by the MCS Foundation and governed by the MCS Approval Committee, chaired by the Independent Chair of Standards, David Heath, whose role is to oversee the Technical Working Groups and protect the integrity and impartiality of the Standards. The Approval Committee ensures changes adhere to governance processes and, depending on the type of change, incorporate industry and technical expert feedback through public consultation. Technical Working Groups develop the Standards and many members sit on European committees, keeping MCS aligned with current EN Standards. Two published change processes govern updates: the Technical Document Control Process, reference 455010, for MCS Technical Standards, and the Scheme Document Control Process, reference 184199, for MCS Scheme documents.

  39. strong RN-YSGE59

    NAPIT

    Useful for untangling the terms consumers meet on certification schemes. Distinguishes authorisation, accreditation, certification and registration: NAPIT Registration is authorised by government to operate Competent Person Schemes supporting self-certification against the Building Regulations in England and Wales, with the current scope of that authorisation published on the Government website, while NAPIT Certification is separately accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, with the schedule of accreditation published on the UKAS website. Explains that a scheme member is normally both registered, meaning listed on a searchable register, and certificated, meaning holding a certificate within the scope of a particular scheme, and that the search facility verifies certification status. Warns that not all work carried out by members is covered by the scheme scope.

  40. strong RN-8WCI3J

    NICEIC

    Sets out how self-certification replaces a local authority building control application: a registered contractor does not notify the local authority in advance, but notifies the work online to NICEIC, which issues a building compliance certificate to the customer and tells the local authority the work took place, so building control charges are not payable by the consumer. Covers Building Regulations notification for gas, heating and hot water, ventilation, plumbing and microgeneration, with electrical-only contractors directed to the separate Domestic Installer Scheme. Scheme conditions state that contractors working in domestic dwellings must hold at least 2 million pounds of public liability insurance and must offer clients a warranty for completed work. Published fees are an initial application fee of 95 pounds plus assessment and certification of 595 pounds covering one to four units, with measures priced in units, for example heating or hot water systems 1 unit, sanitary convenience 2 units, solid fuel burning combustion appliance 2 units, and air source heat pumps 2 units.