What Are Building Regulations?
Building regulations are statutory minimum standards for building work in Wales, setting requirements for structural stability, fire safety, thermal performance, drainage, electrical safety, and more. They apply to most significant building work regardless of whether planning permission is also required.
Building regulations in Wales are devolved โ Welsh Government sets the standards via Part L (energy efficiency) and other regulations, which now differ in some respects from England. Always check Welsh-specific requirements for energy-related work.
Work That Requires Building Regulations Approval in Wales
Always requires building regs approval:
- Extensions (single or double storey)
- Loft conversions to habitable space
- Garage conversions to habitable space
- Structural alterations (removing or altering load-bearing walls)
- New electrical installations and major alterations (unless self-certified by NICEIC/NAPIT/ELECSA registered electrician)
- New heating systems (boiler replacement, new central heating)
- New bathrooms where soil pipes or drainage is altered
- Roof replacement where the structure is altered
- Installation of rooflights in certain configurations
- Underpinning
Does NOT typically require building regs (but check):
- Like-for-like repairs and replacements (windows, doors, roof tiles) where no structural change
- Garden walls, fences, and outbuildings under certain sizes
- Internal decorating and non-structural alterations
- Replacement glazing (if FENSA-certified installer is used โ they self-certify)
How to Get Building Regs Approval in Wales
Option 1: Your local authority building control: Submit a full plans application (drawings and specifications reviewed before work starts) or a building notice (approval granted as work progresses). Local authority approval provides a final completion certificate and is most appropriate for complex projects.
Option 2: Approved Inspector: Privately appointed inspectors who carry out building control work as an alternative to local authority. Widely used in Wales for commercial work and increasingly for residential.
Option 3: Competent person schemes: For specific work types (electrics, gas, glazing, heating), registered contractors can self-certify their work without a separate building regs application. This is the most common route for individual trade work.