Building Regulations Changes You Might Have Missed

The UK building regulations are frequently updated. June 2022 saw one of the largest changes in recent history: a brand new Part O and Part S were introduced, alongside updates to Part L and Part F. Many of these changes are preparation for the Future Homes Standard which is due to come into effect in 2025 and will dramatically reduce the carbon emissions new homes produce.

With its strong focus on reducing carbon emissions produced by buildings, changes to Part L are well documented and discussed within our industry. However, in recent months, other regulations have been updated – here are a few you might have missed.

Part F – Ventilation

Part F has been updated to mitigate the problems caused by the increased air tightness and thermal performance of buildings, such as condensation issues and mould growth. Under the new legislation, ventilation methods have changed alongside the minimum whole dwelling ventilation rates.

Read more from our sister company C80 Solutions: A Summary of the Changes to Part F

Part O – Overheating

Rules surrounding air tightness and thermal performance also increase the risk of buildings overheating and so Part O has been created to reduce the likelihood of this occurring. The new legislation details two different methods for demonstrating compliance: the Simplified Method and the Dynamic Thermal Modelling Method.

Those building homes will need to consider factors such as cross ventilation, total amount of glazing, window sizing and window design.

Read more from our sister company C80 Solutions: What You Need to Know About the New Part O

Part R – Physical infrastructure for high-speed electronic communications networks

The latest version of Approved Document R came into effect in December 2022. This new legislation is designed to ensure new dwellings or other substantially altered buildings to have the facility for highspeed internet connections.

This will involve an application to a network provider at design stage to demonstrate if a service is available and a connectivity plan will need to be submitted with your building regulations application. As receiving the information from a network provider will take some time, we strongly recommend clients to submit the applications as early as possible.

Part S – Infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles

From 15^th June 2022, new buildings will be required to demonstrate they have appropriate infrastructure in place for charging electric vehicles. This new legislation provides technical guidance on this subject.

Get in touch

We’re a fully licensed Building Control Approved Inspector. We inspect projects of all shapes and sizes from domestic to residential to commercial. Our service area covers Yorkshire and the North East. If you’re working on a project that requires building control, we’d love to hear from you.

Yorkshire Office

Email: admin@ydbc.co.uk

Phone: 0113 372 0094

North East Office

Email: info@ydbc.co.uk

Phone: 01325 582060