Building control advice
Building regulations approval
It is not always easy to determine whether building regulations approval is required for works that you are considering carrying out to your property.
Examples of work that will require building regulations approval:
- building, extending or structurally altering a house or flat
- changing the use of buildings to other uses
- any work affecting means of escape or fire safety in a house or flat
- replacing a heat producing appliance (boiler or wood burning stove for example)
- adding to or altering certain electrics in a house, flat or building linked to a house or flat
- renovation of external walls, roofs, ground bearing floors
- replacement windows
- loft conversions
- new drainage or plumbing
- installing a new bathroom, kitchen, or utility room (unless it is a re-fit of an existing bathroom, kitchen or utility room)
- alterations to a chimney or flue
- building, extending or structurally altering an office or commercial building
- internal fit-out of an office or commercial building, where means of escape could be affected
If your project is not listed here, please contact building control for advice.
Exemptions
Not all building work needs building regulations approval, for a list of exempt buildings click the below link:
This is a broad overview - if you are undertaking any work please contact the Building Regulations team for detailed advice and support.
You may wish to view a simple visual guide for householders using the planning portal. This outlines common household projects.
If you are uncertain about whether or not work that you are proposing to carry out requires building regulations approval, please contact building control.
Certain works such as electrical alterations, installation of gas, solid fuel or oil appliances and ventilation systems can be self certified by a competent person, provided that person is registered on one of the many government approved schemes. A full list of the current competent person schemes can be found by using the contacts table (GOV.UK)
You can use a competent person either simply for the work that they are authorised to carry out, or as part of a large scheme such as the electrical works in an extension.
There are two ways to make an application for new projects, depending on the type of work, e.g. a Building Notice or a Full Plans Submission. For guidance on making an application the below link will be helpful.
Although we do accept paper applications we prefer for you to submit your application electronically for efficiency purposes. You can do this through one of the methods below :
- online: submit a plan
- online: planning portal
- please contact us for a pdf or word version building control application to submit directly by email: [email protected]
- post:
Building control
Town Hall
George Street
Luton
LU1 2BQ
If your project is within or at a property that is defined as Designated Use by The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (typically schools, offices, HMO’s, commercial) you must complete:
- a full plans application
- a form for the fire consultation process - see page 19 of the building regulations and fire safety procedural guidance document.
A person who proposes to carry out building work shall not start that work unless that person has given the relevant Building Control body notice of intention to start work and at least two days have elapsed since the end of the day on which the notice was given (see Regulation 16). This notification allows Building Control to schedule and conduct the necessary inspections to ensure compliance with building standards. You will need to submit the Start on Site form and return to [email protected] within this time period for legal purposes.
The Notice of Commencement is an additional stage where Building Control must be notified, known as the deemed commenced stage. According to Regulation 16 (3C) of the Building Regulations 2010, it is a legal requirement to notify Building Control within five days after the work has commenced.
With both types of application, particularly for Building Notices, there may be occasions where site conditions reveal unforeseen factors which may lead to additional expenditure. It is advisable to make allowance for this in setting a budget for the project. However, for straight forward construction works necessary to satisfy Building Regulations should already have been taken account of by the builder and should not generally be subject to additional cost.
You can apply for a Regularisation Certificate in accordance with Regulation 18 for retrospective approval of unauthorised building work from a Local Authority Building Control Body.
As the enforcing authority for Building Regulations, the Local Authority has certain powers and responsibilities regarding such works and may take enforcement action. However, it may be possible for you to make a retrospective application to cover these works through a Regularisation Certificate. Please see here on How do I apply for building regulations
Persons submitting information for Building Regulations and allied purposes are advised that information you give us will be held on computer or manual record, which you have a right to see and check. The information is used by the council to fulfil its statutory obligations, may occasionally be used to obtain feedback on the building control service, and in connection with the prevention and detection of crime and fraud. The council also retain and archive a copy of the information submitted. Such archives are made available for inspection by persons with bona fide reasons, such as building owners and prospective purchasers. All legal obligations regarding copyright and so forth are observed.
Subject to the above exceptions, information is not passed to other persons or organisations. The council's obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 are explained in the leaflet "How to see your records - Your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998" available from this office and from Libraries.
Information on our current fees and charges can be found at:
Our published annual statement can be found here:
A standard charge for a single house up to 300m² is included in standard charges below. For projects of more than one dwelling or flats, please contact the office for a bespoke quotation.
- credit/debit card at the Council Offices or online at Luton building control fees
- cheque made payable to Luton Borough Council
- invoice issued upon written request