What you need to know about building rules & regulations before your next project:

Planning Permission:

If you’re planning a significant extension you will need planning permission and will need to submit an application. Using a reputable architect and builder, and speaking to your local authority early on to know what’s likely to get approval is a good idea.

Permitted Development (PD) grants the right to enable homeowners to undertake certain types of work without the need to apply for planning permission.

The following rules apply under Permitted Development:

You can extend a detached property by 8m to the rear if it’s a single-storey extension (6m for a semi or terraced house), or by 3m if it’s double
A single-storey extension can’t be higher than 4m on the ridge and the eaves, and ridge heights of any extension can’t be higher than the existing property
Two-storey extensions must not be closer than 7m to the rear boundary
Side extensions can only be single storey with a maximum height of 4m and a width no more than half of the original building
Any new extension must be built in the same or similar material to the existing dwelling
Extensions must not go forward of the building line of the original dwelling
An extension must not result in more than half the garden being covered

Party Wall Act:

If building your extension involves digging or building foundations within 3m of the boundary, party wall or party wall structure, or digging foundations within 6m of a boundary, the work will require you to comply with the Party Wall Act. A building owner proposing to start work covered by the Act must give adjoining owners notice of their intentions in the way set down in the Act.

Building Regulations:

Whether you are having a new extension built, self-building a house, renovating a property or having a new kitchen/bathroom, it is a legal requirement that the work being carried out meets the requirements of current building regulations.

You will need to submit a full plan submission to your local authority building control, or approved inspector prior to the build. The building inspector will visit your site at different stages and inspects the work as it progresses. All alterations to listed buildings, including internal ones, require consent and it is a criminal offence to alter a listed building without it.

If you would like to know more about any of the above get in touch with us, or visit Federation Master Builders website: https://www.fmb.org.uk/find-a-builder/ultimate-guides-to-home-renovation.html

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