The Building (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Building Regulations 2000 (S.I.2000/2531 as amended by S.I. 2000/3335, S.I. 2002/440, S.I. 2002/2871 and S.I. 2003/2692), “the principal Regulations”, impose requirements on people carrying out certain building operations. The Building (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2004 (“the No. 2 Regulations”) made certain amendments with respect to electrical safety. These Regulations revoke the No. 2 Regulations, and incorporate the same amendments with some minor alterations and additional amendments to the principal Regulations. In addition to minor and drafting amendments the following changes of substance to the principal Regulations are made.

1.  The definition of “controlled service or fitting” in regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulations is extended to include services or fittings in relation to which Part P (electrical safety) imposes a requirement (regulation 2(2)(a)).

2.  A new definition of “electrical installation” is inserted, as Part P imposes a requirement that reasonable provision shall be made in the design, installation, inspection and testing of “electrical installation”'; (regulation (2)(2)(b)).

3.  New definitions of “low voltage” and “extra low voltage” are inserted as Part P limits its application to these types of installations (regulations (2)(2) (c) and (d)).

4.  A reference to Part P is added to paragraph (1A)(b) in regulation 3 (meaning of building work) of the principal Regulations, so that the limitation on the definition of “building work” in relation to the provision of certain controlled services or fittings in existing dwellings does not apply to Part P (regulation 2(3)).

5.  Changes are made to the requirements for specified material changes of use (amendments to regulation 6(1)(a)) of the principal Regulations (regulation 2(4)).

6.  A reference to Part P is added to regulation 8 of the principal Regulations which provides that compliance with the listed Parts does not require anything to be done beyond what is necessary to secure reasonable standards of health and safety (regulation 2(5)).

7.  A new paragraph is inserted in regulation 9 of the principal Regulations in order to make provision for Part P to apply to certain greenhouses, small-detached building and extensions (regulation 2(6)).

8.  Changes are made to regulation 12(5) of the principal Regulations (the giving of a building notice or deposit of plans), which confers exemptions where the work is within Schedule 2A or 2B. Schedule 2A is extended, and Schedule 2B inserted(regulation 2(7), (10) and (11), and Part 2 of the Schedule).

9.  Regulation 16A, which applies in relation to the works described in Schedule 2A, is substituted so as to extend the application of self certification schemes (regulation 2(8)).

10.  Part P is inserted into Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (regulation 2(9)).

11.  Regulation 3 contains transitional provisions.

• The Secretary of State has approved, under section 6(1) of the Building Act 1984, a new document containing practical guidance with respect to the requirements contained in Part P. The Approved Document P has been published by The Stationery Office and is available on the ODPM website at www.odpm.gov.uk.. It is intended that the Secretary of State will approve amendments to the Approved Document P that will also be available from the Stationery Office and on the ODPM website.

• A regulatory impact assessment was prepared in relation to the No. 2 Regulations. A copy may be obtained from Buildings Division, ODPM (Tel: [phone]; Fax [phone]; Email: [e-mail]) or from the ODPM website. The further impact of the additional amendments made in these Regulations on business, voluntary bodies or the public sector is negligible.

• The Wiring Regulations BS 7671: 2001 and amendments (ISBN 0-86341-373-0) can be obtained from the Institution of Electrical Engineers, P.O. Box 96, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2SD (email [e-mail]) or the British Standards Institution, Customer Services, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL (email [e-mail]).