The Building Act and Regulations
What are Building Regulations?
The Building Regulations 2000 are a set of minimum requirements designed to secure the health, safety and welfare of people in and around buildings and to conserve fuel and energy in England and Wales.
The history of Building Regulations can be traced back to the Great Fire of London in 1666, following which Charles II decreed that walls between buildings (party walls) must be constructed of brick or stone, and that buildings with timber claddings must be far enough apart to prevent the spread of fire from one to another. From 1858 on, local councils made bye-laws under various Public Health Acts to control private building in the interest of public health and safety.
The first National Regulations were introduced in 1966, and reflected the prescriptive nature of the old bye-laws. They have been totally changed, and greatly added to since then, and the modern Regulations are a set of functional requirements backed up by detailed Approved Documents, British and European Standards and other authoritative guidance documents. The intention is that the designer should have considerable freedom of design whilst still producing a building which meets the primary objectives of the Regulations.
Building Regulations are made by the Secretary of State for the Environment under powers contained in the Building Act 1984, and may control matters relating to:
- the health, safety, welfare and convenience of persons in or about buildings,
- the conservation of fuel and power,
- the prevention of waste, undue consumption, misuse or contamination of water.
- regulations currently in use are the Building Regulations 2000, and cover the following subjects:
Approved Document:
The Building Regulations 2000 are made by the Secretary of State for the Environment under powers delegated by Parliament under the Building Act 1984. These Regulations are framed as basic performance standards. The level of safety and standards acceptable are set out as guidance in the Approved Documents. Compliance with the detailed guidance of the Approved Documents is evidence that the Regulations themselves have been complied with. Alternate ways of achieving the same level of safety are also acceptable.
Just because an Approved Document has not been complied with does not necessarily mean that the work is unsafe. The circumstances of each particular case are considered when an Application is made that adequate levels of safety will be achieved. The Approved Documents may be purchased from the Stationery Office Book Store or from bookshops.
This flexible approach means that the Building Regulations are adaptable to allow innovative design and the variation of circumstances of each particular building.
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