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Optional Parts of Building Regulations


SBMS

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Hi all

 

We are just kicking off our self-build and have appointed our private Building Control firm.  They have asked us whether we are requiring:

 

-regulation 36(2)(b) (optional water efficiency requirement of 110 litres per person per day),

-Schedule 1 Part 1 optional requirement M4(3) (category 2- accessible and adoptable dwellings)

 

 

Reading online it seems that these are optional parts of Building Regs that you can elect to comply with, but that some local authorities can mandate this?  Is this correct, and how would we know if this was something our local authority insisted on? Further - if we are using private BCO - does the local authority have any input on these two in any event?

 

We would, of course, prefer not to elect to comply with these, but interested to hear other's thoughts!

Edited by SBMS
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9 minutes ago, Mike said:

Parts of the regulations apply - or don't apply - according to particular circumstances (set out in the regulations), but none of the regulations are optional.

Plus 1 

Absolutely not optional 

This is a real problem with private BC 

LA perhaps stick to the rules to rigidly 

But at least they do know the rules 

 

The water efficiency is something you will have to do before sign off 

Your as built sign off guy will do this for a very small fee within His or hers report 

Ours charged us £15 

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Thanks for the responses.  I've been told that there are "Optional Technical Housing Standards" which are standards local authorities can choose to apply or not (or that housebuilders can choose to optionally adhere to). The summary for these standards (and how they inter-relate with Building Regulations is):

 

"In March 2015, following consultation on accessible design standards, the government issued policy in the form of a Written Ministerial Statement on housing standards. It introduced new additional optional Building Regulations on water and access, and new optional national space standards referred to as the ‘new national technical standards’.

The new standards complement the mandatory Building Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2214."

 

 

The example for water efficiency from the Govt's guidance on optional technical housing standards is this:

 

"All new homes already have to meet the mandatory national standard set out in the Building Regulations (of 125 litres/person/day). Where there is a clear local need, local planning authorities can set out Local Plan policies requiring new dwellings to meet the tighter Building Regulations optional requirement of 110 litres/person/day."

 

So it does indeed indicate that there are optional standards that complement Building Regulations that a new home can adhere to, but that may also be set at a local authority level as a mandatory requirement?

 

I think I should have named this topic something better than 'optional part of building regulations' as these are not those, but are 'optional technical housing standards'! My question, for anyone that's come across this, is, can a local authority mandate them?

 

The govt document I read is here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/housing-optional-technical-standards

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31 minutes ago, matthyde83 said:

I’ve just been through exactly the same thing and reading around it I think these standards need to be applied as conditions in planning by the local authority.  Failing that the standard standards apply… that’s what I’ve gone with anyway!

That would make sense, and I guess would make it really clear that the authority had decided to impose an optional regulation.  There weren't any conditions related to this in our planning approval, so I think we can inform BCO we don't need to adhere to these optional conditions.

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