Make a Building Regulations application

Submit-a-Plan is the Local Authority Building Control National Portal for making electronic and offline Building Control applications to ANY Local Authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Apply using Submit-a-Plan

Building Regulations are minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. If you are unsure if your proposal requires Building Regulations approval, check our Building Control guidance section.  

An application deposited under this procedure needs to contain existing and proposed plans and other information showing all structural details, preferably at least 5 weeks before building work starts on site.

We will check your plans and consult any appropriate authorities. A Notice of granted application or, a Notice of granted application subject to requirements will be issued within 5 weeks or, if you agree, a maximum of 2 months from the date you made the application.

A Notice of granted subject to requirements will either specify modifications which must be made to the plans, or will request further information. 

A full plans application is valid for 3 years from the date you made the application.

We will carry out inspections of the building work once it is in progress and issue a completion certificate once our Building Control Surveyor is content that the completed work complies with the Building Regulations.

Change of Dutyholder

Should the Applicant, Client, Principal Contractor or Principal Designer change at any stage between submission of the formal application and formal completion, a Change of Dutyholder Notice must be submitted (Form below in related documents).

Fees

The fees are paid in 2 parts. An invoice for the plan fee will be raised upon receipt of application and is to be paid upfront. An invoice will be raised for the inspection fee once building work commences.

An application deposited under this procedure does not require plans so it’s quicker and less detailed than the Full Plans application. It is designed to enable some types of building work to get under way quickly; although it is perhaps best suited to small domestic work.

There are also specific exclusions in the regulations as to when Building Notices cannot be used. These are:

• mainly commercial properties that are subject to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• for work which will be built close to or over the top of rain water and foul drains – for more information see nwl.co.uk

If you decide to use this procedure, you need to be confident that the work will comply with the Building Regulations or you will risk having to correct any work you carry out if the Building Control Surveyor requests this. In this respect you do not have the protection provided by the approval process of the Full Plans application.

We will carry out inspections of the building work when it is in progress and issue a completion certificate once our Building Control Surveyor is content that the completed work complies with the Building Regulations.

Fee

A Building Notice costs the same as a Full Plans application, however the total fee is due on submission of the application.

To facilitate people who wish to have building work approved, there is a process called Regularisation. A regularisation application is a retrospective application relating to previously unauthorised works i.e. works carried out without Building Regulations consent after 11th November 1985.

The purpose of the process is to regularise the unauthorised works and obtain a certificate of Regularisation. Depending on the circumstances, exposure, removal and/or rectification of works may be necessary to establish compliance with the Building Regulations.

If you need advice when submitting your Regularisation application, please contact  us on (0191) 643 2200.

When your building project is coming to an end, the duty holders involved in the construction phase (client, principal designer, principal contractor) must provide compliance declarations confirming they have fulfilled their duties and ensured compliance with the Building Regulations. This can be completed using our Notice of Completion (Form below in related documents).

Following satisfactory final inspection, with all outstanding issues and requirements resolved, we can issue a completion certificate for your project.

Demolitions are dealt with under the Building Act 1984. Generally, requiring 6 weeks' prior notice to be given before the demolition begins.

The Local Authority Building Control may decide to issue a notice within 6 weeks on receipt of the notification to specify conditions that need to be met which may include precautions to protect adjoining properties and the public.

Demolition work must also comply with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and a health and safety plan produced by the principal contractor.

Building Regulations relating to site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture will need to be met once the preparation work starts on the site.