Extensions Building Regulations

In most cases you will need a successful application for planning permission before any work is allowed to commence.

Planning permission is very important, because it allows your local council to plan for the future and understand how the land is being used. This will have an impact on the appearance of buildings, the general landscape and even things such as road access and environmental implications.

You will need planning permission if any of the following applies to your extension:

1. The extension is higher than the highest part of your original roof.
2. Any part of the extension is more than four meters high and within two metres of your boundaries.
3. The extension will take up more than half of the total ground area of your land (this excludes ground covered by the original property).
4. The total volume of the original building will increase by more than 115 cubic metres.
5. The total volume of the original building is increased by more than 10% for terraced houses or any property in a conservation area of national park.

Once your your plans have been submitted to your local council, it will place the plans on the Planning Register for public viewing and they will also notify your neighbours. Your local council will also appoint a committee who will make a decision with regards to the planning application. This decision can take up to eight weeks to be made and if you are granted permission you must have the proposed work completed within five years. If you are denied planning permission you can make amendments and then resubmit within 12 months, without incurring a further charge. An appeal can be lodged within three months of a councils decision.

When extending your house you will need to make sure that you comply with government building regulations. This will apply to you unless your extension falls into one of the following categories:

• Porch
• Conservatory
• Detached garage (built at ground level and taking up less than 30m² of floor space) see garage conversions section

These building extensions regulations apply to any building in England or Wales. They aim to set a minimum standard for the design and construction of the building in order to comply with health and safety regulations. There are also extension regulations regarding fuel and power conservation.

We will make sure that your extension meets all the building regulations that could apply to your property.

Building regulation approval is an entirely different entity to planning permission. However it is of utmost importance to ensure that you get both. To achieve compliance with building regulations you (or your architect if you have one) will need to submit very detailed plans on the extension, along with the application and fee to your local planning authority.

Once you have done that they will send out a building control surveyor in order to examine the plans and make sure that they do indeed comply with the building extension regulations. Your builders need to let the council know when the building starts as well as notify at various stages throughout the project. This is so that inspections can be scheduled to make sure work is carried out to a suitable standard. Once you have finished the extension, a final inspection will be carried out and a certificate of completion will be given to you as long as everything is compliant with the extension regulations.