Conservation of fuel and power: Approved Document L, Volume 1 — Dwellings

O N L I N E V E R S I O N Those responsible for building work include agents, designers, builders, installers and the building owner. For further information, see Chapter 7 in Volume 1 and paragraphs A26, B2 and F2 in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations. The Building Regulations can be contravened by not following the correct procedures or not meeting the technical performance requirements. If the building owner or those responsible for the works contravene the Building Regulations, the local authority may prosecute them in the magistrates’ court. For further information on enforcement and sanctions in the existing system, see Chapter B in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations. What do the Building Regulations cover? ‘Building work’ is a legal term for work covered by the Building Regulations. Where a building is not exempt, the Building Regulations apply to all types of building work as defined in regulation 3 of the Building Regulations. For further information, what constitutes building work is covered in Chapter A, Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations. The Building Regulations contain sections dealing with definitions, procedures and the expected technical performance of building work. For example, the Building Regulations: a. define what types of building, plumbing and heating work is classed as building work in regulation 3 (for further information see paragraphs A14 to A16 in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations). b. specify types of building that are exempt from the Building Regulations (for further information see Table A1 and paragraph A11 in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations). c. set out the notification procedures to follow when undertaking building work (for further information see Figure 2.1 in Volume 1 of the Manual to the Building Regulations). d. set out the technical requirements (see Table 7.1 in Volume 1 of the Manual to the Building Regulations) with which the individual aspects of building design and construction must comply in the interests of the health and safety of building users, of energy efficiency (for further information see paragraphs A12(d)–(f), A14(f)–(h), A22, A23, B2(c) and F24 in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations), and of access to and use of buildings. e. set out the standards for building materials and workmanship in carrying out building work (for further information see Chapter 7 in Volume 1, and paragraphs F8 to F11 in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations). When must a building control body be notified? It is often necessary to notify a building control body of planned building work. To help ensure that work complies with the Building Regulations, those responsible for building work may need to use one of the two types of building control body listed below: a. a local authority building control body (for further information see Chapter B in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations) b. an approved inspector (for further information see Chapter E in Volume 2 of the Manual to the Building Regulations). ii Approved Document L Volume 1, 2021 edition Building Regulations 2010 O N L I N E V E R S I O N