Building regulations approval

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To comply with the Building Act 1984 and the subsequent statutory instruments known as the Building Regulations, Building regulations approval is required to construct certain structures in England and Wales. Construction projects falling into this category are sometimes referred to as "notifiable", however this is different from the "notification" (which may also be required under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which seeks to monitor health and safety in construction projects.

The rules vary for Scotland and Northern Ireland, but elsewhere Building Regulations approval can usually be obtained by application to a building control body (BCB), of which there are two types: local Authority BCBs (usually a council's building control department) and private BCBs (known as Approved Inspectors). If an Approved Inspector is used, before any controlled building work can start on site they must inform the local authority about the work. This is called giving an 'initial notice'. This notice states that a particular Approved Inspector is the BCB for the specified works, at the specified location.

If using a local authority, approval can be obtained in 1 of 3 ways:-