Not the Same as Planning Permission
We get asked this constantly: "we don't need planning permission, so we don't need to tell the council anything, right?" Unfortunately, that's one of the most common — and expensive — misunderstandings in home improvement. Planning permission and Building Regulations are two entirely separate systems, run separately, and passing one says nothing about the other.
Planning permission is about whether you're allowed to build something — its size, appearance, and impact on neighbours and the local area. Building Control is about how it's actually built — whether it's structurally safe, properly insulated, fire-safe, adequately ventilated, and correctly connected to drainage and electrics. You can have full planning permission and still fall foul of Building Regulations if the construction itself doesn't meet the required standard — and building control sign-off is required on the vast majority of building projects, including many that never needed planning permission at all.
When Building Control Applies
As a general guide, Building Regulations approval is needed for:
- Extensions and loft conversions of any size
- Structural alterations — removing or altering a load-bearing wall, forming a new opening, underpinning
- New or replacement electrical circuits (notifiable work under Part P)
- Replacement windows and doors (unless installed by a FENSA or CERTASS registered installer, who self-certify on your behalf)
- New drainage, or significant alterations to existing drainage
- Converting a garage, or forming a new habitable room from existing non-habitable space
- New boiler installations (a Gas Safe registered engineer will typically notify building control for you)
If you're not sure whether your specific project needs it, the safest assumption is that it probably does — the list of exemptions is much shorter than the list of work that's covered.
Two Routes to Approval
You have a choice of who checks your work against the regulations:
- Local Authority Building Control — the council's own building control team, who review your plans and inspect the work on site at key stages
- A private Approved Inspector — an independently registered building control body offering the same statutory service
Both routes carry the same legal weight and lead to the same outcome: a completion certificate confirming the work complies. Which one you use is usually a matter of cost, availability and how quickly they can turn around inspections — we can advise on this as part of any quote.
Building Notice vs Full Plans
For most domestic projects there are two ways to apply:
- Building Notice — a simpler, faster route for straightforward work, where you start on site shortly after notifying building control, and compliance is checked as you go. There's no formal approval of the design in advance, so it carries slightly more risk if something needs correcting mid-build.
- Full Plans application — your detailed drawings are submitted and checked before work starts, and you receive formal approval (or a list of required changes) in advance. This takes a little longer up front but gives everyone more certainty — we generally recommend it for anything beyond a simple like-for-like job.
What Happens on Site
Once work is underway, your building control surveyor will inspect at defined stages — typically foundations before concrete is poured, damp-proofing, drainage before it's covered, and a final inspection on completion. Missing an inspection can mean digging back up work that's already been covered over, so on every job we build in the inspection points as fixed milestones rather than an afterthought.
Why Skipping It Is a False Economy
Work carried out without building control sign-off doesn't just carry a safety risk — it creates a legal and financial headache further down the line. Mortgage lenders and conveyancing solicitors routinely ask for completion certificates when a property is sold, and without one you may need to apply for retrospective approval, which can involve exposing finished work for inspection, at your cost, with no guarantee it will pass as-is.
Our Approach
On every extension, conversion or structural project we carry out across Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs and the rest of Thanet, building control is arranged as a standard part of the process — not an optional extra. If you're planning work and want to understand what approval route makes sense for your project, get in touch and we'll talk you through it before you commit to a design.