The Building Regulations apply to building work in England & Wales and set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health for people in or about those buildings. They also include requirements to ensure that fuel and power is conserved and facilities are provided for people, including those with disabilities, to access and move around inside buildings.

You should also bear in mind that if you are the owner of the building, it is ultimately you who may be served with an enforcement notice if the work does not comply with the regulations. We at Criteria Workspace Solutions have our own Building Control and Fire Consultants who can in principle approve an application prior to any refurbishment or fitout works being undertaken. Criteria Workspace Solutions can undertake the full application on your behalf this will encompass all aspects of the building regulation application from initial notice to final approval.

Do I need Building Regulations Approval?

If you are planning to carry out 'Building Work' as defined in the Building Regulations, then it must comply with the Building Regulations.

The following types of project amount to 'Building Work':

• The erection or extension of a building
• An alteration project involving work which will temporarily or permanently affect the ongoing compliance of the building, service or fitting with the requirements relating to structure, fire, or access to and use of buildings
• When installing replacement windows using a Builder or window company not FENSA registered
• The installation or extension of a service or fitting which is controlled under the regulations
• The insertion of insulation into a cavity wall
• The underpinning of the foundations of a building
• When you want to change the building's fundamental us

Enforcement

If you go ahead with your office, school or commercial refurbishment without the required permission, the local council that is the planning authority for your area may ask you to make a retrospective planning application.

If it decides that permission should not be granted it may require you to put things back as they were.