Apply for Building Regulations

Building Regulations

The Building Regulations set out the acceptable standards for health and safety in and around buildings by setting functional requirements for the design, construction and alteration of buildings. The regulations also set standards to promote the energy efficiency of buildings and the needs of people with disabilities. In basic terms Building Regulations are in place to ensure that buildings are healthy and safe to live and work in.

Building regulations and planning permission are not the same and should not be confused.  These are different application processes, under different legislation and are regulated by separate Council departments.  Please refer to our planning guidance page for advice on planning permission matters.

How to apply

You can apply online using Submit a Plan. This is the Local Authority Building Control national portal for submitting Building Regulation applications online to any local authority in England.

Apply online using Submit a Plan

If you need a paper application form please contact Building Control  (contact details can be found at the bottom of the page)

Will my project need a Building Regulations Application?

Most alterations, extensions and new building work needs to comply with Building Regulations. The Building Regulations apply to many different projects from large to small. For example this could include extensions, loft conversions, garage conversions, knocking through between rooms, moving or creating a new toilet or bathroom, electrical work and window replacement.

To find out if building regulations apply to your project please see the Planning Portal interactive guide. You will also find project guides to help you understand the relevance of Building Regulations to projects.

If you are unsure whether your project needs to comply with Building Regulations please discuss this with your appointed competent designer or contact the Building Control Section for advice.

How much will it cost?

Charges are made to cover the cost of the Building Regulation application service. For more information please go to our fees page.

What type of application should I submit?

If Building Regulations apply to your project you will need to submit an application to the local authority. Usually you will be able to submit your Building Regulation Application using one of two application methods known as an 'application for building control approval with full plans' or 'building notice'.

Application for Building Control Approval with Full Plans:

Along with the application you need to submit existing and proposed plans, other drawings, specifications and supporting documentation as appropriate sufficient to demonstrate that your proposed works comply with building regulations.  Once payment has been made the application and plans will be examined. We have 5 weeks to issue a decision or 2 months if you consent to the period being extended.  Applications are issued with grant of approval, grant of approval with requirements (typically because you need to submit further information) or rejected (where the plans and information received are deficient in demonstrating that building regulations will be met).  You are advised not to start building work until your application has been granted. Grant of the approval is valid providing building works are commenced within 3 years from date of application, providing that the there are no applicable changes to the building regulations which take effect before work is commenced.

Building Notice application:

An application needs to be submitted 48 hours prior to starting building work, if submitting a building notice you need to ensure the work is being carried out by a competent builder who will ensure the work will be compliant with the Building Regulations/Approved Documents as the builder has no approved plans to work to. 

Please note that a building notice application can only be used where the building work relates to a dwelling house.  It may also be used where the work is to a flat providing the work does not relate to any shared parts of the building and is not in a higher-risk building.

Retrospective Approval of Unauthorised Building Work (Regularisation Application):

If you or a previous owner carried out work without submitting a building regulation application at the time, then you may be able to apply to have this approved retrospectively. This is called a Regularisation Application. This is only possible for work carried out on or after the 11 November 1985.
You will need to provide plans to show what building work was undertaken together with sufficient information to demonstrate that this was done in compliance with building regulations which applied at the time the work was carried out.
Please be aware that you may be asked to open up various areas of the building so that building control can check that the building work reflects the details shown on your drawings and specifications.
If building work appears to meet the regulations that were in place at the time the work was carried out, a Regularisation Certificate will be issued.
Please note your application will be dealt with a quickly as possible, however building regulation applications submitted in advance of building work being undertaken are dealt with as a priority.  As a guide, you should allow 2 months for the examination of your retrospective application.
 

Site Inspection, Commencement and Completion Notifications

When you submit your application, you will be provided with an inspection notification framework.  This will set out the stages of building work that you will need to notify us through the project so that we can carry out an inspection.

While it is the requirement of the persons undertaking the building work (which includes the client, designer and contractor) to comply with building regulations, building control will inspect the works at stages through the project to minimise the risk of non-compliance with the Building Regulations.

In addition to notifications that may be relevant to your particular project (as set out on your inspection framework), there are also 3 stages of notification relevant to all types of work.  These are:

Start of building work - For all types of work, you should initially give us at least two days’ notice before you start the work.

When you start work you should email building.control@newcastle.gov.uk with your name, address and application number to book your first inspection.

Commencement of building work – You are also required to notify us at the point where work is deemed to have legally begun.  This is a new requirement of building regulations introduced under a change to the law in October 2023.  

Commencement now has a different meaning to starting work.  Commencement is the stage at which:

• For extensions or new buildings, this is when all substructure forming the foundations and ground floor is completed.
• For other type of work, it is when 15% of the overall building work relating to the building regulation application is completed.

When building work reaches the stage of works commenced you should email building.control@newcastle.gov.uk with your name, address and application number to advise us of this.

Completion of building work - When you consider the building works to be complete, you should, within five days, provide us with a completion notice to allow us to inspect the work for any issues before awarding the completion certificate. 
This notification should take the form of a notice signed by the client, designer and builder confirming that the work has been carried out in compliance with building regulations.

Please download and complete the Building Regulations Completion Notice Form and return to building.control@newcastle.gov.uk.

Building Regulation Applications for higher-risk buildings

From 1 October 2023, local authorities are unable to receive building regulation applications for building work to a higher-risk building (HRB)

An HRB is a building at least 18 metres in height or at least 7 storeys (not including any basement storeys) and which has at least two residential units. HRBs also include residential care homes and hospital in-patient care buildings which meet the same height threshold.

Building regulation applications relating to HRBs must be submitted direct to the Building Safety Regulator: Manage a building control application for a higher-risk building - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Further information on the building regulation application process for HRBs can be found here. 

You can find details of how to contact the Building Safety Regulator here or telephone 0300 790 6787.

Contact

If you need advice you can contact the Building Control Section our office hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday.

Telephone: 0191 211 6102

Email: building.control@newcastle.gov.uk

Post: Building Control Section
Civic Centre
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8QH

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