Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Building Act 1984

Type Public General Act

Publication 1984-10-31

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API

Part I — Building Regulations

Power to make building regulations

Section 91ZB: supplementary

1

(1) The appropriate national authority may, for any of the purposes of—

(a) securing the health, safety, welfare and convenience of persons in or about buildings and of others who may be affected by buildings or matters connected with buildings,

(b) furthering the conservation of fuel and power,

(d) furthering the protection or enhancement of the environment,

(e) facilitating sustainable development, or

(f) furthering the prevention or detection of crime,

make regulations with respect to the matters mentioned in subsection (1A) below.

(1A) Those matters are—

(a) the design and construction of buildings;

(b) the demolition of buildings;

(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) above are known as building regulations.

(3) Schedule 1 to this Act has effect with respect to the matters as to which building regulations may provide.

(4) The power to make building regulations is exercisable by statutory instrument, which is —

(a) in the case of a statutory instrument made by the Secretary of State, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament;

(b) in the case of a statutory instrument made by the Welsh Ministers, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of Senedd Cymru.

Continuing requirements

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(1) Building regulations may impose on owners and occupiers of buildings to which building regulations are applicable such continuing requirements as the appropriate national authority considers appropriate for securing, with respect to any provision of building regulations designated in the regulations as a provision to which those requirements relate, that the purposes of that provision are not frustrated; but a continuing requirement imposed by virtue of this subsection does not apply in relation to a building unless a provision of building regulations so designated as one to which the requirement relates applies to that building.

(2) Building regulations may impose on owners and occupiers of buildings of a prescribed class (whenever erected, and whether or not any building regulations were applicable to them at the time of their erection) continuing requirements with respect to all or any of the following matters—

(a) the conditions subject to which any services, fittings or equipment provided in or in connection with a building of that class may be used,

(b) the inspection and maintenance of any services, fittings or equipment so provided,

and so much of paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to this Act as restricts the application of building regulations does not apply to regulations made by virtue of this subsection.

(3) If a person contravenes a continuing requirement imposed by virtue of this section, the building control authority, without prejudice to their right to take proceedings for a fine in respect of the contravention, may—

(a) execute any work or take any other action required to remedy the contravention, and

(b) recover from that person the expenses reasonably incurred by them in so doing.

(4) Where a building control authority have power under subsection (3) above to execute any work or take any other action, they may, instead of exercising that power, by notice require the owner or the occupier of the building to which the contravention referred to in that subsection relates to execute that work or take that action.

(5) Sections 99 and 102 below apply in relation to a notice given under subsection (4) above, subject to the modification that references in those sections to the execution of works are references to the execution of works or the taking of other action, and references to works shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Sections 8, 9, 10 and 39 below have effect in relation to continuing requirements imposed by virtue of this section subject to the modification that a direction under the said sections 8 and 9 below shall, if it so provides, cease to have effect at the end of such period as may be specified in the direction.

Exemption from building regulations

Exemption of particular classes of buildings etc.

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(1) Building regulations may exempt a prescribed class of buildings, services, fittings or equipment from all or any of the provisions of building regulations.

(2) The appropriate national authority may by direction exempt from all or any of the provisions of building regulations—

(a) a particular building, or

(b) buildings of a particular class at a particular location,

either unconditionally or subject to compliance with any conditions specified in the direction.

(2A) The regulator may at any time make a proposal to the Secretary of State for the giving of a direction under subsection (2).

(2B) Before making a proposal, the regulator must consult such persons as it considers appropriate.

(2C) Before giving a direction under subsection (2), other than a direction proposed by the regulator, the Secretary of State must consult—

(a) the regulator, and

(b) any other person that the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

(3) A person who contravenes a condition specified in a direction given under subsection (2) above, or permits such a condition to be contravened, is liable on summary conviction to a fine ..., and to a further fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale for each day on which the offence continues after he is convicted.

Exemption of educational buildings and buildings of statutory undertakers

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(1) Nothing in this Part of this Act with respect to building regulations, and nothing in any building regulations, applies in relation to—

(a) a building required for the purposes of a school or other educational establishment erected or to be erected according to

(i) plans that have been approved by the appropriate national authority,

(ii) particulars submitted and approved under regulations made under section 544 of the Education Act 1996,

(iii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(iv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) a building belonging to statutory undertakers, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority . . . or the Civil Aviation Authority and held or used by them for the purposes of their undertaking, unless it is—

(i) a house, . . . or

(ii) a building used as offices or showrooms, and not forming part of a railway station ... ...

(2) The words “the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority,” in subsection (1)(b) above (together with paragraph 4 of Schedule 6 to this Act) cease to have effect upon the coming into force of the repeal of section 5(5) of the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954 contained in Schedule 7 to this Act.

Exemption of public bodies from procedural requirements of building regulations

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(1) Building regulations may exempt—

(a) a local authority,

(b) a county council, or

(c) any other body that acts under an enactment for public purposes and not for its own profit and is prescribed for the purposes of this section,

from compliance with any requirements of those regulations that are not substantive requirements.

(2) A local authority, county council or other body that is exempted as mentioned in subsection (1) above is in subsection (3) below referred to as an “exempt body”.

(3) Without prejudice to the obligation of an exempt body to comply with substantive requirements of building regulations, the function of enforcing building regulations that is conferred on local authorities by section 91(2) below is not exercisable in relation to work carried out by an exempt body, and accordingly—

(a) nothing in section 36(1) to (5) below applies in relation to work so carried out, and

(b) a local authority may not institute proceedings under section 35 below for a contravention ... by an exempt body.

(3A) In relation to higher-risk building work in England—

(a) exemptions under subsection (1) have no effect (and accordingly bodies must comply with requirements applicable to such work, whether substantive or not), and

(b) subsection (3) has no effect (and accordingly the provisions mentioned in that subsection are not disapplied or otherwise affected by it in relation to such work).

(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Approved documents

Approval of documents for purposes of building regulations

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(1) For the purpose of providing practical guidance with respect to the requirements of any provision of building regulations, the appropriate national authority or a body designated by the appropriate national authority for the purposes of this section may—

(a) approve and issue any document (whether or not prepared by the appropriate national authority or by the body concerned), or

(b) approve any document issued or proposed to be issued otherwise than by the appropriate national authority or by the body concerned,

if in the opinion of the appropriate national authority or, as the case may be, the body concerned the document is suitable for that purpose.

(2) References in this section and section 7 below to a document include references to a part of a document; and accordingly, in relation to a document of which part only is approved, a reference in the following provisions of this section or in section 7 below to the approved document is a reference only to the part of it that is approved.

(3) An approval given under subsection (1) above takes effect in accordance with a notice that is issued by the appropriate national authority or, as the case may be, the body giving the approval and that—

(a) identifies the approved document in question,

(b) states the date on which the approval of it is to take effect, and

(4) The appropriate national authority or, as the case may be, the body that gave the approval may—

(a) from time to time approve and issue a revision of the whole or any part of an approved document issued by ... it for the purposes of this section, and

(b) approve any revision or proposed revision of the whole or any part of an approved document,

and subsection (3) above, with the necessary modifications, applies in relation to an approval that is given under this subsection to a revision as it applies in relation to an approval that is given under subsection (1) above to a document.

(5) The appropriate national authority or, as the case may be, the body that gave the approval may withdraw ... its approval of a document under this section; and such a withdrawal of approval takes effect in accordance with a notice that is issued by the appropriate national authority or body concerned and that—

(a) identifies the approved document in question, and

(b) states the date on which the approval of it is to cease to have effect.

(5A) A notice under subsection (3) or (5) may contain transitional or saving provision (and different provision may be made for different purposes or for different areas).

(5B) A body may give an approval under subsection (1) or (4), or withdraw an approval under subsection (5), only with the consent of the appropriate national authority.

(6) References in subsections (4) and (5) above and in section 7 below to an approved document are references to that document as it has effect for the time being, regard being had to any revision of the whole or any part of it that has been approved under subsection (4) above.

(7) Where a body ceases to be a body designated by the appropriate national authority for the purposes of this section, subsections (4) and (5) above have effect as if any approval given by that body had been given by the Secretary of State.

(8) The power to designate a body for the purposes of this section is exercisable by order made by statutory instrument, which is —

(a) in the case of a statutory instrument made by the Secretary of State, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament;

(b) in the case of a statutory instrument made by the Welsh Ministers, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of Senedd Cymru.

(9) An order under subsection (8) may provide that a body is designated only in relation to—

(a) buildings of a specified description;

(b) work of a specified description;

Compliance or non-compliance with approved documents

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(1) A failure on the part of a person to comply with an approved document does not of itself render him liable to any civil or criminal proceedings; but if, in any proceedings whether civil or criminal, it is alleged that a person has at any time contravened a provision of building regulations—

(a) a failure to comply with a relevant approved document may be relied upon as tending to establish liability, and

(b) proof of compliance with such a document may be relied on as tending to negative liability.

(1A) In subsection (1) “relevant approved document” means a document approved for the purposes of the provision that applies in relation to the work in question.

(2) In any proceedings, whether civil or criminal—

(a) a document purporting to be a notice issued as mentioned in section 6(3) above shall be taken to be such a notice unless the contrary is proved, and

(b) a document that appears to the court or tribunal to be the approved document to which such a notice refers shall be taken to be that approved document unless the contrary is proved.

Relaxation of building regulations

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(1) Subject to this section, the appropriate national authority, if on an application for a direction under this section it considers that the operation of a requirement in building regulations would be unreasonable in relation to the particular case to which the application relates, may after consultation with the local authority, give a direction dispensing with or relaxing that requirement.

(2) If building regulations so provide as regards a requirement contained in the regulations, the power to dispense with or relax that requirement under subsection (1) above is exercisable by the local authority (instead of by the appropriate national authority after consultation with the local authority).

(3) Building regulations made by virtue of subsection (2) above may except applications of any description.

(3A) If, in a case where the regulator is the building control authority—

(a) an application for a direction under this section is made to the regulator, and

(b) the regulator considers that the operation of a requirement in building regulations would be unreasonable in relation to the particular case,

it may give a direction dispensing with or relaxing the requirement.

(3B) No application under subsection (1) or (2) may be made in a case where the regulator is the building control authority.

(4) If—

(a) building regulations so provide as regards any requirement contained in the regulations, and

(b) a public body considers that the operation of any such requirement would be unreasonable in relation to any particular work carried out or proposed to be carried out by or on behalf of the public body,

the public body may give a direction dispensing with or relaxing that requirement.

(5) In subsection (4) above, “public body” means—

(a) a local authority.

(b) a county council, or

(6) Building regulations may provide as regards a requirement contained in the regulations that subsections (1) to (5) above do not apply.

Application for relaxation

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(1) An application under section 8(1) , (2) or (3A) shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed.

(2) An application under section 8(1) or (2) shall be made to the local authority, and, except where the power of giving the direction is exercisable by the local authority, the local authority shall at once transmit the application to the appropriate national authority and give notice to the applicant that it has been so transmitted.

(3) An application by a local authority in connection with a building or proposed building in the area of that authority shall be made to the appropriate national authority, except where the power of giving the direction is exercisable by that authority or in a case where the regulator is the building control authority..

(4) Schedule 2 to this Act has effect as regards as application for a direction that will affect the application of building regulations to work that has been carried out before the making of the application.

Advertisement of proposal for relaxation of building regulations

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(1) Not less than 21 days before giving a direction under section 8(1), (2) , (3A) or (4) above in respect of any particular work, the appropriate national authority, the building control authority or the public body, as the case may be shall publish in a local newspaper circulating in the area where the site of the work is situated a notice—

(a) indicating the situation and nature of the work and the requirement to be dispensed with or relaxed, and

(b) stating that representations with regard to the effect that the direction may have on public health or safety may be made by a date specified in the notice, being a date not less than 21 days from the date of the notice.

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