Building (Prescribed Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Interpretation and application

2.—(1) In these regulations—

• building includes a proposed building;

• building work means the erection of a building, the structural alteration (other than the insertion of insulating material in a cavity wall of a building) or extension of a building (including work in connection with the making of a material change of use) or the provision of a service or fitting;

• building notice has the same meaning as in regulation A10 of the principal regulations;

• building notice fee has the meaning given by regulation 4(c);

• estimate, in relation to the cost of carrying out building work, means a written estimate, accepted by a district council, of such reasonable amounts as would be charged for the carrying out of that work by a person in business to carry out such work, and references to “estimated cost” shall be construed accordingly;

• inspection fee has the meaning given by regulation 4(b);

• material change of use has the same meaning as in regulation A9(1) of the principal regulations;

• plan fee has the meaning given by regulation 4(a);

• the 1979 order means the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) Order 1979;

• the principal regulations means the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994(1);

• regularisation fee has the meaning given in regulation 4(d); and

• small domestic building means a building used or intended to be used wholly for the purposes of one or more private dwelling-houses, flats, or maisonettes none of which has a total floor area exceeding 250 square metres, but does not include a building which has more than 3 storeys, each basement level being counted as one storey.

(2) In these regulations—

(a) the total floor area of a dwelling is the total of the floor areas of all the storeys in it, excluding the floor area of any integral garage or carport;

(b) the total floor area of an extension of a dwelling is the total of the floor areas of all the storeys in the extension; and

(c) the floor area of—

(i) any storey of a dwelling or extension; or

(ii) a garage or carport,

is the total floor area calculated by reference to the finished internal faces of the walls enclosing the area, or, if at any point there is no enclosing wall, by reference to the outermost edge of the floor.

(3) These regulations shall not apply in relation to a building—

(a) specified in Part B of Schedule 1 to the principal regulations (Classes of wholly exempted buildings) as in operation before 15th January 1996; or

(b) specified in Schedule 1 (Classes of exempted buildings) to the principal regulations as in operation on or after that date.

(1)

S.R. 1994 No. 243 as amended by S.R. 1995 No. 473 and by S.R. 1997 No. 481