The ultimate guide to getting ready to build

The construction phase of a project requires the bulk of your budget

and will impact the value and safety of your home,

but many homeowners find themselves faced with a lack of clarity on difficult rules and regulations.

If you’re looking to unlock the secrets of the construction industry, here are details of the legal requirements you’ll need to meet and how you can best protect your home during this vital stage.

Basic requirements

If you just want to make sure you have the minimum legal requirements, this is what you’ll need…

Planning permission, if required

Some projects can go ahead without planning permission, known as the use of permitted development rights.

Whether your project falls within this scheme or not will come down to the size of your extension, the height, exterior appearance and location of your home –

For example but not limited to.

It should also be noted that although permission is not legally required,

It is recommended that you take the time to obtain a legal development certificate.

If your project does not qualify for permitted development, you are legally required to obtain planning permission from your local authority.

You will need to prepare a planning package, which will include existing drawings of your home as it is today, as well as your proposed designs.

Construction monitoring

The other legal requirement you will need to meet is to obtain a sign-off from your local building department.

This can be done either by your local authority or by an approved inspector.

At the very least, you will need to have your builder work with an inspector or your local authority (we recommend a certified inspector),

Which will first check that your graphics are good before they hit the site and give you conditional approval to proceed.

They will then be brought to site during construction and sign off on the work at various key stages, before final approval is given at the end of the process.

Although this means that your project is considered legal, without detailed technical drawings of your design,

This way of doing things makes you vulnerable to risk.

For starters, you’ll be at the mercy of your builder to know the ins and outs of UK building regulations.

If they make a mistake, many will raise their hands and say you didn’t provide enough instructions and charge you an additional fee to correct the errors.