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Building Regs are quite simply a set of rules and regulations which the Government set in order to:

"Ensure the health, safety, welfare and convenience of people in and around buildings, and the water and energy efficiency of buildings. The regulations apply to most new buildings and many alterations of existing buildings in England and Wales, whether domestic, commercial or industrial."

(The above definition is Crown Copyright and is reproduced by kind permission of the Dept for Communities & local Government).

They are the guidelines and rules which ensure that new builds, extensions and alterations meet the required standards for workmanship, safety and efficiency. In order to do this, every local Council have Building Inspectors, who will visit and inspect work which falls under the Regulations and will ensure that ALL aspects of the build comply.

Even though they are based on same very complex legislation, most builders, architects and project managers know them backwards as they are an everyday part of how they earn their living. The regulations don't apply to all projects but will apply to any structural alteration to an existing building and this means a lot of work you may wish to do won't fall within the Building Regs guidelines.

To help you through this difficult area, and to give you an idea as the whether or not your planned project will fall under the Regulations you can check out the following document:

Building Regualtions

(This document is Crown Copyright and was published by the ODPM, which no longer exists; it was updated in 2005 so should give you a good grounding in the Regulations.)

Venture Construction Limited asked us to point out here that building something which fails to comply with Building or Planning Regs is incompliant and deemed inhabitable. You could be forced to demolish said works to the structure and return it to its former state. This would incur costs and could lead to a court case.

You can also check out the following web link for more information:

Communities & Local Government - Building Regulations

Finally, if you contact the planning department at Central Bedfordshire Council, the staff there will be more than happy to help you with any queries you have, or check back to the main part of this section and take Venture Construction Limited up on their kind offer of telephone advice.