Subject: Proposed Practical Approach to Building Regulations Application – Refurbishment Works to Dwellinghouses/HMO

Dear Building Control,

Thank you for your previous correspondence and guidance.

For the avoidance of any doubt or confusion, this email is not connected with, nor does it relate to, the previously discussed property. It is submitted solely to seek general guidance in respect of future refurbishment projects and prospective Building Regulations applications.

We are writing because, wherever practical, our preference is to use the Local Authority Building Control service rather than a private Registered Building Control Approver. We therefore wished to seek your guidance before proceeding with future applications.

According to your previous correspondence and ouur due diligence, our understanding is that Building Regulations approval is only required where the proposed works fall within the scope of the Building Act 1984 y el Building Regulations 2010.

Accordingly, we only wish to make applications for those works that are legally required to be the subject of Building Regulations approval. We respectfully do not wish to include within the application matters that are not required by the legislation.

To clarify, we recognise that Building Control operates under the Building Act 1984 y el Building Regulations 2010, which are separate statutory regimes from both the Housing Act 2004 and the planning use class system.

Your correspondence consistently explains that a Building Regulations application is not required where no building work is carried out and there are no alterations affecting the means of escape.

Regulation 3 of the Building Regulations 2010 defines “building work” and includes, amongst other things, alterations to a building and the provision or extension of controlled services or fittings.

In our case, the refurbishment works we may propose in the future may include:

  • refurbishment of fire compartmentation where required.
  • Replacement of FD30 fire doors where required.
  • replacement  of the fire detection and alarm system where required.
  • Installation of  new bathrooms.
  • Associated plumbing, drainage and mechanical extract ventilation.

According to your email and our due diligence these above seem to be the legal requiremnts

In addition for centain projects it is viable to inroduce the following within some dwellinghouses:

  • Internal thermal insulation works.
  • Internal sound insulation

To the extent that these works constitute “building work” within the meaning of the Building Regulations 2010, we are entirely willing to submit an application so that Building Control can inspect the works and, upon satisfactory completion, issue the appropriate completion documentation.

However, we respectfully wish to limit the application to those works that are legally required under the Building Regulations. We do not seek approval for matters that fall outside the statutory scope of the Building Regulations.

In particular, whilst we are willing to install the physical thermal and sound insulation measures where financially viable and practical, we respectfully ask whether the refurbishment can be approved without requiring pre-completion sound insulation testing.

Our concern is not simply the additional cost of the sound test. The principal issue is the uncertainty that it introduces into the project. We are entirely willing to carry out all of the agreed physical refurbishment works, including the installation of the sound insulation measures.

However, because we are dealing with existing buildings, we have no certainty that, even after completing all of the works in accordance with Building Control’s requirements, the property will successfully pass a pre-completion sound test. If the test were to fail, we could be required to undertake further intrusive and expensive remedial works, despite having followed the agreed specification in good faith.

We would therefore be grateful if you would consider the following practical approach in relation to future refurbishment projects involving existing buildings.

As our enquiries relate to the refurbishment of existing buildings, rather than the construction of new buildings, we respectfully suggest that a pragmatic approach may be appropriate.

If, on future projects, we install the sound insulation measures strictly in accordance with the specification and construction details required by Building Control, would Building Control be willing to inspect those works, confirm that they have been completed in accordance with the agreed specification, and issue the appropriate completion documentation on that basis, without requiring pre-completion sound insulation testing?

We believe this is a reasonable approach in the context of existing buildings. Unlike new-build developments, where the construction can be designed and controlled from the outset to achieve a particular acoustic performance, existing buildings inevitably contain elements that cannot always be altered or controlled without disproportionate and intrusive works. Consequently, even where the agreed specification has been followed in full, there remains an inherent uncertainty as to whether a pre-completion sound insulation test will ultimately achieve the required result.

We also note that this practical approach appears to be consistent with the Government’s guidance on Rooms for Residential Purposes, which states that rooms in HMOs which are not hotels, hostels, boarding houses, halls of residence, residential homes or similar are unlikely to constitute “rooms for residential purposes” for the purposes of Part E, giving as an example a small HMO created from an existing dwellinghouse occupied by a group of students. In our respectful view, this guidance recognises that existing dwellinghouses used as HMOs should not automatically be treated in the same manner as purpose-built residential accommodation for the purposes of Part E. This is one of the reasons why we respectfully ask Building Control to consider approving refurbishment works based upon inspection of the completed works rather than requiring pre-completion sound insulation testing.

Our proposal is simply that compliance should be assessed by reference to the agreed construction specification and the quality of the completed workmanship, rather than solely by the outcome of a pre-completion sound insulation test. Building Control would therefore inspect the completed sound insulation works, confirm that they have been installed in accordance with the agreed specification, and issue the appropriate completion documentation on that basis.

This approach would provide certainty to both parties. Building Control would have the opportunity to inspect and verify that all agreed works had been completed to the required standard, whilst we would have certainty that, once those works had been satisfactorily completed and inspected, the refurbishment could be signed off without the uncertainty associated with a test whose outcome cannot be guaranteed in advance for an existing building.

Our concern is not with carrying out the works themselves—we are entirely willing to do so. Rather, our concern is committing to a compliance process where the final outcome remains uncertain despite following all of the agreed requirements. Our intention in writing is simply to understand whether a practical and collaborative approach can be agreed for future refurbishment projects, so that we can continue to work directly with the Council’s Building Control service with confidence and certainty.

We respectfully wonder whether the most practical solution would be for any future Building Regulations application to be limited solely to the proposed refurbishment works. The application would therefore identify only the individual building works requiring approval—such as fire compartmentation, fire doors, fire detection, bathrooms, plumbing, ventilation, thermal insulation and, where appropriate, sound insulation. Building Control could then inspect those works against the agreed specification and issue the appropriate completion documentation upon satisfactory completion, without unnecassary complications due to uncertainties.

Our concern is not with carrying out the works themselves—we are entirely willing to do so. Rather, our concern is committing to a compliance process where the final outcome remains uncertain despite following all of the agreed requirements.

Our objective is simply to establish a clear, practical and predictable process for future refurbishment projects, so that we can continue to work directly with the Council’s Building Control service wherever possible.

.

We look forward to your response and hope that an agreed practical solution can be reached.

Kind regards,

Andreas Russo