Building regulations in the United Kingdom

Building regulations in the United Kingdom are statutory instruments or statutory regulations that seek to ensure that the policies set out in the relevant legislation are carried out. Building regulations approval is required for most building work in the UK.
Building regulations that apply across England and Wales are made under powers set out in the Building Act 1984 while those that apply across Scotland are set out in the Building Act 2003. The Building Act 1984, as amended by the , permits detailed regulations to be made by the Secretary of State for England and by a Welsh Minister for Wales.
As 'Building Regulations' and 'Building Safety' are devolved areas of law, in the four parts of the UK.
The building regulations made under the Building Act 1984 have been periodically updated, rewritten or consolidated, with the latest and current version being the Building Regulations 2010. The UK Government is responsible for the relevant legislation and administration in England, the Welsh Government is the responsible body in Wales, the Scottish Government is responsible for the issue in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility within its jurisdiction.
There are very similar Building Regulations in the Republic of Ireland. The English Building Regulations 2010 and the Building Act 1984 have been updated, on 1 October 2023, with major changes by the Building Safety Act 2022.

Regulatory structure

The detailed requirements of the Building Regulations in England and Wales are scheduled within 18 separate headings, each designated by a letter, and covering aspects such as workmanship, adequate materials, structure, waterproofing and weatherisation, fire safety and means of escape, sound isolation, ventilation, safe water, protection from falling, drainage, sanitary facilities, accessibility and facilities for the disabled, measures to limit overheating in new dwellings, electrical safety, security of a building, high-speed broadband infrastructure connections, and the installation of a minimum number of facilities for the charging of electric vehicles in all new buildings.
There are entirely separate "Approved Documents" for Wales and England.
In Wales all new dwellings must have automatic fire suppression installed.
In England only new residential buildings, over 11m high are required to have automatic fire suppression systems.
For each Part, detailed specifications are available free online describing the matters to be taken into account. The approved documents are not literally legally binding in how the requirements must be met; rather, they present the expectation of the Secretary of State concerning the minimum appropriate standards required for compliance with the Building Regulations, and the common methods and materials used to achieve these. The use of appropriate British Standards and/or European Standards is also accepted as one way of complying with the Building Regulations requirements.
However, the supply of gas is not specifically controlled by the Building Regulations, as there are separate Gas Safety Regulations enforced by the Health and Safety Executive. Fuel storage
Newer versions of Building Regulations are generally not retrospective: they are applied to each new change or modification to a building but do not require renovation of existing elements. There are general requirements for any change or improvement, that the building must not be left any less satisfactory in compliance than before the works, and areas worked on must not be left in unsafe condition by reference to current standards. The Regulations may also specify in some cases, that when enough work is done in an area the remainder of that area must be brought to an appropriate standard; however the standard required for an existing building may be less stringent than that required for a completely new building.
The Regulations also specify that some types of work must be undertaken by an appropriately qualified professional, or must be notified to the relevant local authority's Building regulations approval for certification or approval.
The application of Building Regulations is separate and distinct from 'Town Planning' and 'planning permission'; the Building Regulations control how buildings are to be designed or modified on the public grounds of safety and sustainability while 'planning permission' is concerned with appropriate development, the nature of land usage, and the appearance of neighbourhoods. Therefore, both must be considered when building works are to be undertaken.

History and timeline of changes

Building Regulations 2000

The Building Regulations 2000 were regulations imposed on the construction industry in England and Wales by statutory instrument. They were revoked and replaced by The Building Regulations 2010. The regulations were signed by Nick Raynsford, Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
There were several amendments, from 2001-2003:

The Building Regulations 2001
The Building Regulations 2002
The Building Regulations 2002
The Building Regulations 2003

From 1 January 2005 the term building work includes work on household electrics.
From 6 April 2006, the Building Regulations are extended by amendments to incorporate some of the European Directives requiring energy in existing and new buildings to be measured, etc. The core term building work was once again amended and extended in scope to include renovation of thermal elements, and energy used by space cooling systems as well as energy used by space heating systems. Both are now subject to efficiency limits, and energy use controls are required. New additional competent persons schemes were proposed and authorised, in respect of energy systems and energy efficient design.

A total rewrite of Approved Document for Part P was also issued in 2006.
New Approved Documents for Part F and Part L were issued along with specified 'second tier' guidance documents was also issued in 2006.
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006

The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 made provision for microgeneration to be brought within the Building Regulations, and increased to two years the time limit for prosecuting contraventions of the regulations relating to energy use, energy conservation or carbon emissions. It also requires the Secretary of State to report on compliance with these aspects of the Building Regulations and steps proposed to increase compliance. However, no such regulations have been laid.

Building Regulations 2010

A total rewrite of the Building Regulations was issued in the Building Regulations 2010. However, this has since been amended several times again, in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018:

In December 2011, building regulation powers for Wales were devolved, enabling Welsh ministers the power to make building regulations in Wales. Subsequent amendments by both the UK government and the Welsh Government for Wales have caused the building regulations for the two countries to begin to diverge.
A total rewrite of Approved Document for Part K was also issued in 2012/2013. This new Part K now incorporated all that once was within Part N and came into force on 1 October 2015.
2015 - Part Q came into force on 1 October 2015.
2017 - Part R came into force on 1 January 2017. - Revised Part RA "Ultra-fast broadband" for all new Dwellings - December 2022.
2022 - Changes to Parts F and L and introduction of a new Part O - mitigation of overheating - took effect on 15 June 2022.
2022 - introduction of a new Part S - EV Charging Points - a minimum number is now required for all new buildings - took effect on 15 June 2022.
Building Safety Programme

Shortly after the Grenfell Tower fire of 14 June 2017, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government established the Building Safety Programme. In the short term, this scheme sought to identify and remediate buildings with unsafe cladding. The problems that it variously exposed, compounded, and remedied constitute the cladding crisis. The programme is, longer-term, leading to a new regulatory framework for building safety, a Building Safety Bill, and a new Building Safety Regulator.

Building (Amendment) Regulations 2018

In the Building Regulations 2018 a number of regulations were amended or created to introduce a restriction on the use of combustible materials within external elevations and specific attachments in certain types of buildings with storeys over 18m - this applied in England only. This change came in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. The part of the amendment relating to elements provided to reduce heat gain was subsequently overturned by the UK High Court in November 2019 because "the consultation had been inadequate".

Building (Amendments) Regulations 2023

In the Building Regulations 2023 a number of very major changes, amendments and new statutory provisions, were introduced, following the enactment by Parliament, of the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Approved documents and compliance

There are currently Eighteen parts to the building regulations and each is lettered as Part A to Part S accompanied by an approved document for that Part X. The approved documents usually take the form of firstly stating the legislation and then providing a number of methods or ways which are deemed to satisfy the regulations.
The building regulations do not aim to stifle innovation, and the introduction of each Approved Document re-states this government aim.
Compliance with the legislation is what is ultimately required and there may be many ways of complying, other than just using the ways set out in the recommended provisions within each of the approved documents. In reality, innovative solutions may be hard to validate, and for much building work the tendency is to follow the guidance of the approved documents literally.
For example, bathroom manufacturers produce a 'Doc M Pack' for disabled toilets, which reproduces exactly the diagram in Part M, and most public disabled toilets are now designed around this layout.
Many manufactured products have agrément certificates issued by the British Board of Agrément, certifying compliance with relevant standards. However, the BBA and other bodies may be able to test and certify to "CE" harmonised EU standards. "CE" marking of all construction materials and products is now a legal requirement, since 1 July 2013.
Most of the detailed information on the Building Regulations is now available on http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/ where general public users can access simplified building regulations guidance, and professional users have access to a reorganised version of what was on the former DCLG building regulations website, including the full versions of the Approved documents and associated guidance, held on the DCLG website.