What’s the difference between Planning Permission and Building Regulations?
the short answer
It’s generally realised that a form of permission is required for building work or alterations to properties. However, it may not always be clear how the Planning and Building Regulations approval regimes differ.
Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health of 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.
Planning Permission seeks to guide the way our towns, cities and countryside develop. This includes the use of land and buildings, the appearance of buildings, landscaping considerations, highway access and the impact that the development will have on the general environment.
For many types of building work, separate permission under both regimes (separate processes) will be required. For other building work, such as internal alterations, Buildings Regulations approval will probably be needed, but Planning Permission may not be. If you are in any doubt, give us a call and we’ll try to help.
When do I need planning permission?
The following are common examples of when you will need to apply for planning permission.
Because you want to:
- Make additions or extensions to a flat or maisonette (including those converted from houses). (But you do not need planning permission to carry out internal alterations or work which does not affect the external appearance of the building)
- Divide off part of your house for use as a separate home (for example, a self-contained flat or bed-sit) or use a caravan in your garden as a home for someone else (But you do not need planning permission to let one or two of your rooms to lodgers so long as the main use remains that of a private residence)
- Build a separate house in your garden
- Divide off part of your home for business or commercial use (for example, a workshop) or you want to build a parking place for a commercial vehicle at your home
- Build something which goes against the terms of the original planning permission for your house - for example, your house may have been built with a restriction to stop people putting up fences in front gardens because it is on an "open plan" estate. The Planning Service has a record of all planning permissions in your area
- Have work done that might obstruct the view of road users
- Have work done that would involve a new or wider access to a trunk or classified road
You do not always need Planning Permission. It is not required, generally speaking, for changes to the inside of buildings, or for small alterations to the outside such as the installation of telephone connections and alarm boxes. Other small changes, for example putting up walls and fences below a certain height, may be considered as "permitted development" under the terms of the Planning (Northern Ireland) (General Development) Order 1993
What building work should comply with Building Regulations?
The following types of project amount to 'Building Work' as defined in Regulation 3 of the Building Regulations:
- the erection or extension of a building
- the installation or extension of a service or fitting which is controlled under the regulations
- 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
- the insertion of insulation into a cavity wall
- the underpinning of the foundations of a building
If you are planning to carry out such work, then it should comply with the Building Regulations.
The works themselves should meet the relevant technical requirements in the Building Regulations and they should not make other fabric, services and fittings less compliant than they previously were - or dangerous. For example, if you replace external windows or doors, the building should comply to at least the same degree as it did before or, where it exceeded the standards, not be reduced below the standards in relation to:
- means of escape from fire
- air supply for combustion appliances and their flues
Also, in this example the replacement windows/doors should also fully satisfy the requirements for energy conservation and ventilation for health.
The Building Regulations may also apply to certain changes of use of an existing building. This is because the change of use may result in the building as a whole no longer complying with the requirements which will apply to its new type of use, and so having to be upgraded to meet additional requirements specified in the regulations for which building work may also be required.
Are any buildings and building work exempt from Building Regulations?
There are a number of classes of new buildings or extensions of existing buildings that do not need Building Regulations approval - subject to certain criteria on size, construction and position relative to boundaries being met. The following are examples of such buildings and extensions. Please note that they may require planning permission.
- garden sheds
- summer-houses
- domestic garages
- greenhouses
- conservatories
- porches
- covered way
- car ports
- covered yards