Real estate things you once knew but may have forgotten: the importance of adhering to building regulations

The importance of adhering to the requirements of Building Regulations when developing land and redeveloping buildings is sometimes overlooked, and certainly shouldn't be. Building Regulations are made under powers provided for in the Building Act 1984, and apply in England and Wales.

The Regulations can appear quite complex, and care should be taken when reviewing them in terms of what they require of a developer. There are some key messages that are relevant to the property professional, and these tend to come up on regular occasions as a project continues through different stages of development.

• Building Regulations – applications and consents – are an entirely separate matter from the Town and Country Planning requirement to obtain planning permission for development.
• The Regulations are an important part of the regime of construction approvals, to ensure the health and safety of people in and around all types of commercial, industrial and domestic buildings. They also provide for energy conservation, and for access and facilities for disabled persons.
• They require approvals to be sought at particular stages of work:
  • commencement
  • carrying out of works
  • completion.
• Anyone that carries out building work that is caught by the Regulations is required to make sure that the building work complies with the Regulations.
• Non-compliance may be dealt with by informal means with local authority officers, but the following should be borne in mind:
  • local authorities have the power to require defective work to be put right – even if that means removing any new internal walls, ceilings or plant to put right the unauthorised work
  • local authorities, in addition to 5(a), may serve a contravention notice which carries a maximum fine of £5000 for each separate contravention
  • local authorities are able to place on the local Land Charges Register the fact that the necessary approvals have not been obtained. This may well affect the ability of the Owner to sell the property on.

If you have any queries please contact Alistair Watson at alistair.watson@cms-cmck.com or on +44 (0)20 7367 3890.

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