Building control approval for higher-risk buildings

Local authorities are the building control authority for overseeing and approving building work for higher-risk buildings in Wales. 

A higher-risk building is a building that has at least:

• 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high 
• 1 residential unit or is a hospital, a care home or a children’s home

Some types of buildings are excluded from being a higher-risk building, such as hotels, secure residential institutions and military barracks or other Ministry of Defence accommodation. 

You can read guidance on when buildings are considered to be higher-risk buildings during construction of new buildings and when carrying out building work on existing buildings.

When you submit a building control approval application, the building control authority uses it to check that the:

• proposed work will comply with building regulations
• the client (defined in regulation 2 of The Building Regulations 2010 will properly manage the project
• the client appoints people to work on the project who have the necessary competence to do their job

You can find out more about the duties of the client, designers and contractors in the guidance about design and building work: meeting building requirements.

For non-higher-risk buildings:

• there is a separate process to apply for building regulations approval
• building control is managed by either local authorities or businesses registered as building control approvers

If a project contains both types of buildings:

• the local authority will be the building control authority for the higher-risk buildings
• the local authority or a registered building control approver can be the building control body for the non-higher-risk buildings

The client must make sure:

• building control approval is granted before any building work starts
• the information provided in the building control approval application is correct

The client can nominate someone else to make the building control approval application and manage the building control process for them. However, the legal responsibility for the application remains with the client.  

You must get building control approval from the building control authority before starting:

• construction of a new higher-risk building
• building work to an existing building that either makes it a higher-risk building, or stops it being a higher-risk building
• building work to an existing higher-risk building, unless it consists only of exempt work, competent person scheme work or emergency repairs

Carrying out building work without the required building control approval is a criminal offence.

You may also need to get planning permission before applying for building control approval. If you’re not sure, check with the local authority.

If the local authority were notified about building work before 1 July 2026, transitional arrangements may apply.

You can find out more by reading the guidance on transitional provisions for regulations that include provisions for higher-risk buildings and wider changes to building control processes.

You do not need to apply for building control approval for work which consists only of:

• exempt work
• competent person scheme work

However, if any of this type of work is part of a wider building project, then it must be included in the building control approval application for that project.

You do not need building control approval for work that includes:

• most repairs, replacements and maintenance work (except heating systems, oil tanks, fuse boxes and glazing units)
• new power and lighting points, or changes to existing circuits (except around baths and showers)
• replacements of baths, toilets, basins and sinks unless specified work is required
• installing insulation in roof spaces or under timber floors

You do not need building control approval when replacing:

• some hot water storage systems less than 15 litres
• gutters or downpipes
• external doors, where less than 50 percent of the surface is glazed

If you’re not sure if the work is exempt, check with a competent contractor or other building control professional.

When exempt work forms part of a wider building project, then it must be included in the building control approval application for that project.

If the project includes only exempt and scheme work, it does not need building control approval.

You do not need building control approval for work carried out under a competent person scheme.

When competent person scheme work forms part of a wider building project, then it must be included in the building control approval application for that project.

If the project includes only scheme and exempt work, it does not need building control approval.

You can check the types of building work covered by competent person schemes. Ask the scheme provider if they cover building work on higher-risk buildings.

How to apply

The client or someone authorised to act on their behalf should submit and manage the building control application via the building control authority.

You can read the guidance about preparing information for a building control approval application. It describes the information and documents you’ll need to submit for your application.

Check how many applications you need

Submit one application for:

• any higher-risk building that is not connected to another building
• multiple higher-risk buildings connected to each other by a shared podium or common part, such as a car park, walkway or party wall

For complex projects that involve buildings with multiple connected parts, you may want to apply for a ‘staged application’. This is when the building work is split into different stages and it allows you to:

• progress the project in separate stages
• submit detailed plans for each stage prior to being able to start work on each stage

You can read more about new buildings constructed in stages in the guidance about preparing information for a building control approval application. It tells you about the staged application process and the information you’ll need to submit.

Before submitting a staged application you should contact the building control authority for advice.

Before you apply, check that you need to submit an application. Do not submit a building control approval application for work that consists only of exempt work, competent person scheme work or emergency repairs.

How to apply

The client or someone authorised to act on their behalf should submit and manage the building control application via the building control authority.

You can read the guidance about preparing information for a building control approval application. It describes the information and documents you’ll need to submit for your application.

If you need help with your application, you can get advice from a competent contractor or other building control professional.

Check how many applications you need

Submit one application per building. For example, submit one application if you’re:

• a resident applying to carry out building work on your home which is in a higher-risk building
• planning to carry out building work on multiple higher-risk buildings connected to each other by a shared podium, or common part
• planning to carry out various types of building work as part of one project, such as changing the internal layout of the building and altering its sprinkler system

Categories of building work

Building work to an existing higher-risk building is classed as either category A or category B work.

If you apply for building control approval under the wrong category, building control authority is likely to reject your application.

Category A work involves at least one of the following:

• changing the external height or width of the building
• changing the number of storeys
• changing the internal layout
• changing the number of flats or residential rooms
• work on the external walls
• work that involves passive fire safety measures, such as fire-resistant materials
• work that involves active fire safety measures, such as sprinklers or alarms
• work that affects the number or width of staircases or other escape routes
• work on the building’s common areas, including any work on the external wall which is applicable

Work is classed as category B work if it does not meet any of the criteria for category A work.

What counts as an emergency repair

Building work carried out urgently to manage a risk to the health, safety or welfare to people in or about the building, is known as an ‘emergency repair’.

Examples of when an emergency repair may be needed include, but are not limited to, when the urgent risk:

• cannot be avoided or managed by putting in place temporary management arrangements
• occurs during planned building work and it would not have been reasonable to expect, detect or avoid it
• occurs because of a breakdown in plant equipment or other equipment in the building

An emergency repair can be carried out promptly to address an urgent risk. However, any other building work needed to address the problem should be submitted in a building control approval application.

Emergency repairs should not be carried out to fix problems that have occurred due to a lack of foresight or planning by the client or a contractor.

If the repair work is not building work or is exempt then it can proceed without approval from the building control authority.

Fire and rescue service (FRS) enforcement notices

If you are a responsible person of a building the FRS can serve you with an enforcement notice under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 if they are of the opinion that you have failed to comply with any provision of the Order or any regulations made under it.

To comply with the notice you may need to carry out some building work. Work needed to comply with an enforcement notice is unlikely to be counted as emergency repairs as the work will unlikely have to be undertaken immediately.

You may need to apply for building control approval for work needed to comply with the notice. If this is the case, contact the FRS who issued the notice about the impact of the timescales for assessing building control approval applications.

Telling the building control authority about an emergency repair

You do not need to apply for building control approval before starting an emergency repair if it is not practicable to do so. However, you must notify the building control authority about the emergency repair. Do this as soon as reasonably practicable after the repair work starts.

When you notify the building control authority about an emergency repair you must:

• describe the repair work
• explain the urgency and why it was not practical to apply for building control approval before carrying out the repair work
• describe any measures put in place to reduce the urgent risks until the repair work is finished

As soon as reasonably practicable after the work starts you must send a copy of the emergency repair notice to the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. You must also keep a copy of the emergency repair information as part of the information you must keep about a building.

The building control authority will assess the emergency repair information you provide. If the building control authority decides that the work:

• meets the criteria for an emergency repair, they will tell you what to do next
• does not meet the criteria for an emergency repair, then the work is unauthorised and the building control authority will decide if they need to take any action

After emergency repair work is completed

After the emergency repair work is completed you must apply for a regularisation certificate as soon as possible. You can do this via the building control authority.

The charges for applying for a regularisation certificate are published by each local authority. 

Application assessment

Unless an extension is agreed, the building control authority have:

• 12 weeks to assess applications for new higher-risk buildings
• 8 weeks to assess applications for existing higher-risk buildings

The time it takes the building control authority to assess your application will depend on the quality of the application and the complexity of the work.

You must not start any building work until the building control application is approved.

Application decisions

Approved

Building work can start as planned.

Approved with requirements

Building work can start as planned on the parts of the application approved by the building control authority.

You must not start building work on any parts of the application that are subject to a requirement, until the local authority is satisfied the requirement has been met.

Examples of requirements include the building control authority telling you to:

• supply additional information, such as providing further plans or details to clarify certain aspects of the application
• supply revised plans to address changes and concerns raised by the local authority
• delay certain aspects of building work until you can demonstrate specific requirements are met

Rejected

A building control approval application will be rejected if it shows that the work will not comply with building regulations. The building control authority will tell you why they have rejected your application.

Applications will be rejected if they do not:

• have enough detail to show compliance
• show effective strategies for managing compliance

You must not start building work if the application is rejected.

Request an appeal of an application decision

If you disagree with an application decision you can request a review. Details about how to request a review will be included in the decision letter.

If after the review you still disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the Welsh Ministers.

Expiry of building control approval

If the building work has not reached a certain point within 3 years from the date the building approval application is made, you’ll lose approval for the work. This point is known as ‘commencement’ and it’s defined in section 46A of the Building Regulations 2010.

You’ll need to give the building control authority an estimated commencement date when you apply for building control approval.

If you need help with the commencement date, check with a competent contractor or other building control professional.

If you disagree with an application decision you can request a review. Details about how to request a review will be included in the decision letter.

If after the review you still disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the Welsh Ministers.

If the building work has not reached a certain point within 3 years from the date the building approval application is made, you’ll lose approval for the work. This point is known as ‘commencement’ and it’s defined in section 46A of the Building Regulations 2010.

You’ll need to give the building control authority an estimated commencement date when you apply for building control approval.

If you need help with the commencement date, check with a competent contractor or other building control professional.

You must submit the following notices and notifications during the building project.

• a notice of intention to start work at least 5 working days before starting
• a notice of commencement within 5 working days after the day on which the work is regarded as commenced
• notifications of building work reaching specified points in your inspection schedule

For staged building work, submit separate notices and notifications to the building control authority for each stage of work.

If your building control application is approved, the documents you submitted for the application are known as the ‘agreed documents’.

You must comply with the agreed documents throughout the build. Any change to an agreed document is known as a ‘controlled change’. You must:

• manage and assess each change in accordance with your change control plan.
• record each change in your change control log.

You must tell the building control authority about any:

• change of client, principal designer or principal contractor
• changes in contact details connected to the application, including the email address you use to access the online application
• ‘notifiable’ or ‘major’ changes to the project

If you want to make a major change, building work must stop on that part of the project until the building control authority gives building control approval for the change.

Read the guidance about making changes to a higher-risk building project. It tells you:

• what notifiable and major changes are
• about the change control process
• how to submit changes to the building control authority

When building work is completed, you must apply for a completion certificate. If you submitted a partial completion strategy as part of your application, you must apply for partial completion certificates in accordance with the strategy.

The building control authority will issue you a completion certificate if they are satisfied the work meets all relevant building regulations.

Read the guidance about applying for a completion certificate it tells you:

• how to apply for a full or partial completion certificate
• the documents you’ll need to submit to apply for a certificate

The charges for applying for building control approval are published by each local authority.