Easier to read summary - 2012 consultation on

changes to the Building Regulations in England

Easier to read summary - 2012 consultation on
changes to the Building Regulations in
England

January 2012
Department for Communities and Local Government
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January 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4098-3316-1
Easier to read summary - 2012
consultation on changes to the
Building Regulations in England

Chapter 1

Introduction

Purpose of this document

1. This document provides an easier to read overview of the Government’s
2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations for England,
highlighting areas we think will be of interest to consumers. It does not
contain all the detail of the consultation and should be read alongside the
other consultation documents which are available from the Department for
Communities and Local Government web site at:

www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/buildingregulations/buildingregulationschanges/

Background to the consultation

2. It is important that buildings are built to reasonable standards. Building
Regulations provide a set of requirements that apply in most cases when
buildings are built or extended, when work is carried out on certain services
and fittings such as electrical circuits and windows, and to certain alterations
and changes of use. These help to ensure that the buildings do not, for
example, have an adverse impact on the health, safety and welfare of the
people who live and work in those buildings. These also help ensure that
buildings are reasonably accessible and have suitable levels of energy and
water efficiency.

3. Compliance with the Building Regulations is the responsibility of the person

carrying out the work. The building control system helps ensure that the
level of performance required by the Building Regulations has been met,
with building control bodies providing independent checks on compliance. In
addition to this, Government provides guidance including a set of “Approved
 2 │Easier to read summary

Documents” on ways to achieve the standards required by the Building

Regulations, although this guidance does not have to be followed provided
the required level of performance is achieved in a different way.

4. It is important to ensure that the Building Regulations, including the building

control system and the supporting guidance, remain fit-for-purpose.

5. In July 2010 the Building Regulations Minister Andrew Stunell invited

external partners to submit ideas and evidence on ways to improve the
Building Regulations, with a particular focus to reduce the regulatory burden
and to deliver even better levels of compliance. The Department received
several hundred responses which were used, along with contributions
gathered from other sources such as the Government’s “Your Freedoms”
web site, the Department’s “Cut Red Tape” website, and a number of
seminars and workshops. We used all these when developing the
programme of work to examine a number of areas of the Regulations.

6. In December 2010 the Minister announced this programme which we have

worked on through 2011 with a variety of external partners to develop
detailed proposals for consultation. This work has now produced the 2012
consultation proposals on changes to the Building Regulations in England.

7. The consultation relates to Building Regulations for England only as powers

for making Building Regulations in relation to Wales were transferred on 31
December 2011 to the Welsh Ministers.

The consultation
8. The consultation is presented as four Sections. Section one outlines the
consultation approach and then presents proposals to change various
technical aspects of the regulations. Section two outlines proposals to
increase the energy efficiency of buildings. Section three contains proposals
in relation to electrical safety in homes. Section four outlines changes to the
building control system. These Sections are described in the following
chapters.

9. We are seeking views on the consultation proposals and a number of

questions are asked within the consultation documents. A response form is
provided for each Section of the consultation to assist consultees provide
comments. Responses can be provided up until 27 April, although
responses by 27 March are invited on some aspects of the consultation on
energy efficiency outlined in Section two.

10. We will finalise and publish detailed proposals after the consultation has
closed. Our general aim is that changes related to deregulatory proposals in
the consultation will come into force in April 2013 with proposals with a
regulatory impact coming into force in October 2013. However (subject to
consultees’ views) we intend that the provisions relating to energy efficiency
3 │2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations in England

dealt with in Section two of the consultation package will be phased in to co-
ordinate with the introduction of the Green Deal. The Department of Energy
and Climate Change are planning for the Green Deal framework to be in
place in October 2012. Further detail can be found in the Section two
consultation documents.
 4 │Easier to read summary

Chapter 2

Consultation Section one –

Introduction to the consultation
package and proposals on Parts A,
B, C, K, M and N, Access
Statements, security, Changing
Places toilets and Regulation 7

Introduction to this Section

11. This Section of the consultation outlines the scope of the consultation, its
structure and contents and describes how the consultation fits with current
Government policies to reduce the burden of regulation on business. It also
contains and invites comments on specific consultation proposals relating to
radon protection, Changing Places toilets, domestic security, structural
safety (Eurocodes), fire safety, the use of Access Statements, the
rationalisation of Parts M, K and N, and revising the Approved Document
supporting Regulation 7, which are outlined below.

Fit with Government policies to reduce the burden of

regulation
12. This Section - referring to the Government commitments to reducing the
burdens that fall on business as a result of regulation and to reducing the
total regulatory burden on the house building industry during the current
Spending Review period - explains how all the proposals in the consultation
will impact on business (specifically highlighting home building) and
illustrates the overall regulatory picture for the package as a whole. It shows
the fit with the Government’s “one-in, one-out” policy on regulation where
net cost imposed on business by new regulation (an “in”) is offset by at least
an equivalent net reduction (an “out”). A further explanation is provided at
the end of this document.
5 │2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations in England

13. The Section is used to invite views on this and on not applying to the
consultation proposals the Government policy of exempting micro
businesses and start-ups from new changes to regulations.

Radon protection
14. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can seep out of the
ground and build up inside buildings. It is more intensive in certain parts of
the country, such as the West Country. The Health Protection Agency
publishes maps of the UK showing where radon is more of a risk . Exposure
to radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the UK after smoking.

15. The Building Regulations require new homes and extensions in areas of
higher radon risk to be fitted with features to reduce the health risks from
radon. This approach is described in the guidance in Approved Document
C. In addition to this the Health Protection Agency provides radon advice
and support services to owners and occupiers of existing homes, helping
them identify if their homes contain higher levels of radon and how they can
reduce these radon levels.

16. In 2007 updated radon maps were published which show that the higher
radon risk areas are more widespread than shown on the previous maps.
We are proposing to update the guidance in Approved Document C to
reflect these revised maps. This updating would increase the number of new
homes and extensions which would require radon protective measures. The
additional costs of this protection, particularly when part of a new extension,
often will be borne by the consumer. The benefits from this will be to reduce
occupants’ exposure to radon and related health risks.

Changing Places toilets

17. Changing Places toilets provide extra facilities for people with profound and
multiple disabilities, as well as other serious impairments such as spinal
injuries, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or an acquired brain injury
who often need assistance to use toilets. They are different from standard
disabled toilets with more space and extra features such as adjustable
changing tables and hoists. The number of people in the UK who require
these is believed to be around 230,000 and rising.

18. Building Regulations currently do not require these toilets to be provided in

buildings and we are not proposing to change this as we believe more
widespread provision of Changing Place toilets can be achieved voluntarily
if developers and other interested parties can work together to establish an
approach which removes barriers to provision.
 6 │Easier to read summary

19. Government intends, therefore, to try and facilitate an approach involving

industry working together to deliver better provision in the future. Whilst the
Department will play an active role at the outset, in the longer-term our
ambition is for industry to take this work forward.

20. We will be keen to monitor whether this approach delivers better provision
without the need for regulation. To assist a voluntary approach we are
considering including information on Changing Places toilets in the
Approved Document for Part M of the Building Regulations. Part M is
concerned with access to and use of buildings, to make people aware of
what is necessary to achieve adequate facilities.

Domestic Security
21. There are currently no requirements within the Building Regulations setting
out levels of security measures that should be provided within homes. The
Government has looked at whether or not it would be appropriate for
Building Regulations to require security measures in homes.

22. Initial research has identified that a locally applied targeted approach could
be a more cost effective way to reducing burglary risks, but more evidence
in this area needs to be gathered.

23. We also believe that consumers should be given more information at the
point of sale to support more informed decisions about the level of security
they would like their homes to have, and whether to chose to spend more
for higher levels of security. We will be working with industry to determine
how higher levels of security standards might be achieved on a localised
basis without regulation.

Other proposals
24. This consultation Section also includes and invites comments on:

• Proposals for updating the Building Regulations guidance on structural

safety in Approved Document A, mainly changes associated with the
introduction of a new set of British Standards for structural design based
on a Europe-wide approach, the Eurocodes
• Proposals to revise Approved Document B guidance on the fire
performance of wall and ceiling linings
• Proposals to repeal the fire protection provisions in Local Acts
• Proposals to amalgamate guidance from the current Approved Documents
K, M and N into a new Approved Document K (Protection from falling,
collision and impact and glazing safety)
• Proposals for a new publishing style for Approved Documents, shown
using the draft version of Approved Document K as an example, and
7 │2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations in England

• Proposals to revise the Approved Document in support of Building

Regulation 7 (materials and workmanship) to clarify that Declarations of
Performance and CE marking will become the main source of information
on the performance characteristics of construction products from July
2013.
 8 │Easier to read summary

Chapter 3

Consultation Section two - Part L

(Conservation of fuel and power)

Introduction to this Section

25. This Section of the consultation presents proposals to change Part L and
associated guidance to raise the energy performance standards for new and
existing buildings, and introduce new requirements relating to works carried
out in existing buildings, including domestic extensions and window or boiler
replacements.

New build standards

26. The Part L proposals cover new standards for new homes and non-
domestic buildings, and changes relating to works carried out in existing
homes and non-domestic buildings. Raising the energy performance
standards for new and existing buildings makes homes and non-domestic
buildings cheaper to run, and provides some protection to occupiers against
future energy price rises.

27. For new buildings, the Government has committed to introduce zero carbon
standards from 2016 (homes) and 2019 (non-domestic) for all new
buildings. The proposed 2013 changes take the next step towards those
zero carbon standards, by tightening the carbon dioxide (CO2) targets for
new buildings and introducing a specific energy efficiency target for new
homes.

28. We have analysed how builders could meet the new performance targets in
practice. This work shows that the preferred standards for new homes could
be met with improvements to the building fabric (walls and windows etc).
The preferred standards for new non-domestic buildings are more
ambitious, and are likely to require building-integrated renewable energy
generation technologies (such as solar panels) as well as improved building
fabric. These higher performance levels will bring significant energy savings
to occupiers of new non-domestic buildings.
9 │2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations in England

The fuel factor

29. The ‘fuel factor’ is a way of relaxing the standards slightly for homes which
have to use higher carbon fuels such as electricity because they don’t have
access to the mains gas grid. We discuss whether or not to reduce the ‘fuel
factor’. This could also help promote the use of low carbon or renewable
heating systems in these buildings, but could have cost implications for
new homes built off the gas grid such as in rural areas.

Compliance with the new build standards

30. Recent research has been looking at whether new buildings meet the
standards which were intended when they were designed. The consultation
proposes that, to help address this, regulations could incentivise the use of
a new quality assurance standard. We are challenging different parts of the
supply chain (home builders, product manufacturers, etc) to come together
to develop such a standard in readiness for 2013.

Consequential improvements
31. For existing buildings, the focus is on the proposal to introduce
‘consequential’ improvements: meaning that when a homeowner or
business is carrying out works to their building (e.g. an extension, loft
conversion or replacement windows) they would be asked to undertake
additional work to improve the energy efficiency of the building at the same
time. We are proposing that these changes should be phased in from
October 2012, so that they are aligned with the introduction of the ‘Green
Deal’ framework. This means that building owners would have a way to
meet the new requirements at no upfront cost, if they chose to take up a
Green Deal offer. The Green Deal is a new scheme which will enable
householders to invest in energy efficiency measures which are then repaid
from the resulting savings as a charge on the energy bill – so the measures
will pay for themselves in fuel savings.

Other proposals
32. Some changes are also being made to the standards for works in existing
buildings, including raising the minimum performance standards for
replacement domestic windows from an energy rating of ‘C’ to ‘B’.
 10 │Easier to read summary

Chapter 4

Consultation Section three - Part P

(Electrical safety – dwellings)

Introduction to this Section

33. This Section of the consultation outlines the options considered in the
review of Part P and outlines a proposal for reducing the costs of complying
with Part P.

Electrical safety
34. Since 2005, all electrical installation work in homes has had to meet
minimum standards to comply with Part P of the Building Regulations
(Electrical safety in dwellings). Consumers who have electrical work carried
out by electricians registered with a Part P ‘Competent Person Scheme’ will
get a certificate from the electrician and can be more confident that the work
has been done properly to the latest standards. Major electrical work carried
out by DIY-ers and other unregistered installers must be checked and
certified by a building inspector (usually from the local authority) to ensure it
is safe. Simpler jobs on existing installations do not need to be inspected –
including all repairs and like-for-like replacements, and alterations that are
not in the more hazardous areas of bathrooms, kitchens and outdoors.

35. There has been some criticism of the costs of the bureaucracy Part P
imposes on electricians and the charges made by local authorities for
inspecting smaller jobs, which have ultimately been reflected in the prices
consumers have paid. We are consulting on changes to reduce these
burdens by extending the range of simple jobs that can be carried out
without involving a building inspector, and by allowing DIY-ers and other
unregistered installers to utilise a competent electrician – not just a local
authority building inspector – to certify higher-risk work. These changes
would bring about a reduction of costs for installers and consumers; and
also reduce the burden on local authorities to inspect work in a way that
continues to deliver the health and safety benefits sought.
11 │2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations in England

Chapter 5

Consultation Section four - the

building control system

Introduction to this Section

36. This Section of the consultation sets out proposals which aim to improve the
efficiency of the building control system by reducing burdens, improving
compliance with the Building Regulations and encouraging industry to take
greater responsibility for their actions. The changes will reduce costs by
removing, simplifying or improving processes, help incentivise businesses to
improve compliance by introducing additional voluntary mechanisms, help
building control to focus resources where they have the most impact and
where possible to help improve competition between building control bodies.

37. These proposals are grouped under the following five areas: improving local
authority building control processes; improving private sector Approved
Inspector arrangements, including removing the Warranty Link Rule;
strengthening enforcement; extending the competent person self-
certification schemes framework and introducing specialist third party
certification schemes; and introducing “Appointed Persons” to act as
compliance co-ordinators on construction sites.

Completion Certificates
38. A completion certificate is a document issued by building control to verify
that building work has been completed in accordance with building
regulations standards. Currently local authorities do not issue completion
certificates in every case. This can cause problems when a homeowner
comes to sell their house. We therefore propose to make the issue of
completion certificate by the local authority mandatory in all situations where
they have been notified that the work has been completed and they
consider the work to be compliant.

39. Completion certificates are evidence but not conclusive proof of compliance
with the Building Regulations. We propose to amend the wording on
completion certificates and their equivalents (Approved Inspector final
certificates and competent person building regulations compliance
certificates), to reflect this fact. This change would remove
 12 │Easier to read summary

misunderstandings about the role of such certificates. In those situations

where a completion certificate has been issued and work is later found not
to comply, it may help the homeowner when seeking redress against the
builder.

Statutory Notifications
40. Under Building Regulations there is a requirement to notify local authorities
of the work being carried out to a building at certain stages of a project so
that the work can be inspected; this is known as a ‘statutory notification’.
Legally the person carrying out the work must allow up to two days to
facilitate inspection of the project. However, a project can face unnecessary
delay if the local authority does not wish to inspect the work at that point in
time; of if they wish to inspect the project in a time frame not covered by a
statutory notification.

41. We propose to reduce the number of statutory notifications to

commencement and completion stages only. Instead local authorities will
draw up a service plan on a risk-assessed basis which will set out when in a
project a local authority wishes to be notified and how long the applicant
should wait for the inspection to be carried out. This will benefit the
customer by reducing unnecessary delays and costs and ensure work is
inspected at the most appropriate points in the build. This could mean that
any non-compliant work may be detected at an earlier stage and so reduce
the costs in putting it right.

Removal of the Warranty Link Rule

42. The Warranty Link Rule requires that a designated new home warranty
should be provided where a new home is constructed for private sale or rent
and the work is being supervised by an Approved Inspector. It was
introduced when the building control supervision in the new home market
was first opened up to all Approved Inspectors due to concerns that this
would lead to an increase in problems with compliance with the Building
Regulations.

43. Such concerns have not been borne out and there is no longer considered
to be justification for the Rule. Also problems have arisen in cases where
people do not wish to have a warranty or where a warranty is not available,
which have led to increased costs for the person carrying out the work and
distorted competition between local authorities and Approved Inspectors.
We therefore propose to remove the Warranty Link Rule although, in
practice, most new homes will still be provided with a warranty to satisfy the
requirements of mortgage lenders or for other reasons.
13 │2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations in England

Enforcement
44. The role of building control is to help the person carrying out the work to
comply with the regulations. They largely do this through plan checking and
on-site inspections. Where issues of non-compliance are found informal
advice and guidance are usually sufficient to ensure the matter is rectified.
If at the end of the project the work still does not comply with the
regulations, there is the option of formal legal enforcement action.
However, this is costly and time-consuming for the local authority to take
and the penalties available are not considered sufficient to act as an
effective deterrent.

45. We are therefore consulting on ways to strengthen the existing enforcement

powers, for example increasing the maximum fine available, as well as
introducing new sanctions, such as compliance notices, which could provide
a more flexible and less burdensome enforcement mechanism.

Competent person schemes and other alternative

approaches
46. A competent person scheme allows businesses to self-certify that their work
complies with the Building Regulations as an alternative to the work being
supervised by building control. We are exploring whether to expand the
range of types of work that can be self-certified by members of competent
person schemes. This would remove the need for the work to be checked
by building control and the payment of a building control charge and
therefore reduce prices paid by consumers. However, we will only do so
where we consider that the risks of non-compliance justify this approach.

47. We are also considering whether to introduce alternative approaches that

would help to reduce the level of input by building control in certain
situations and encourage industry to take greater responsibility for
compliance. This includes the potential introduction of specialist third party
certification schemes (for example for checking structural designs) and
introducing “Appointed Persons” to act as compliance co-ordinators on
construction sites.

Other proposals
48. We will also address a number of other minor changes to both the Building
and Approved Inspectors Regulations intended to help the building control
system operate more effectively.
 14 │Easier to read summary

Chapter 6

Regulatory impacts

Regulatory burdens of the consultation

49. In this consultation package we seek to achieve a reasonable balance
between regulatory "ins" and "outs", in line with the Government's
commitments to reduce regulation and in particular to ensure that the
regulatory burden on home builders is reduced by 2015. The Part L
proposals in particular, if taken forward as proposed, will involve extra costs
for home builders. The consultation package identifies some reductions in
regulation to offset these, and we will ensure that other regulatory "outs" are
identified at least to balance the "ins", for example those secured by
abolishing Home Information Packs, before changes are brought into effect.

50. The Government announced on 23rd March 2011 in 'The Plan for Growth' a
commitment to exempt micro businesses and start-ups from new
regulations introduced up to 2014. However, we think that there would be
significant practical difficulties in exempting these firms from the changes
proposed in this package. Many developments subject to Building
Regulations involve businesses of various sizes working together. A
situation where some businesses were subject to the changes, but others
were not, would create confusion and complexity, potentially increasing the
costs of compliance and working against achieving the deregulatory benefits
we seek.

51. During the consultation period we will further refine our economic analysis
and consider further the timing and transitional arrangements for bringing
proposals into effect, and how different approaches might reduce their
impacts. We also plan a five-year review of changes made after the coming
into force of changes to the regime, to check if the changes to the
Regulations are still the best way of achieving the objectives sought,
whether they can be revoked or whether they can be modified to reduce
burdens.

52. Further details on our assessment of the regulatory impact, including tables
showing the “ins” and “outs”, are provided in Annex A of the consultation
document Section one.