The Building Regulations

The Building Regulations: Wales

It is a little-known fact in Wales that in 2011, Wales became responsible for its own Building Regulations, and the new Welsh Regulations came into force in 2014. The 2014 Building Regulations in Wales were expected to improve new residential units' performance by 8% and non‐residential buildings by 20% over the previous standards.

Since then, the ‘Approved Documents’ that set out the Regulations here in Wales have changed considerably. 

There are a number of key differences to the regulations in Wales that are important to understand as they should be considered at the very beginning of a construction project to prevent costly issues later on. 

At Simply Plans Wales, our Chartered Surveyors are able to establish the likely Regulation pit falls that can occur throughout a project at the very beginning. This can save considerable time and money later and prevent significant changes to a design or project prior to construction.

The Approved Documents for Wales can be accessed using the link below. This will take you to the Welsh Government Site where the documents are available free to download. 

https://gov.wales/building-regulations-approved-documents

Approved Documents Wales:

Part A: Structural Safety 

Part B: Fire Safety 

Part C: Resistance to Contaminants and Moisture

Part D: Toxic Substances

Part E: Resistance to Passage of Sound

Part F: Ventilation

Part G: Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficiency

Part H: Drainage and Waste Disposal

Part J: Heat Producing Appliances

Part K: Protection from Falling, Collision and Impact

Part L: Conservation of Fuel and Power

Part M: Access to and use of Buildings

Part N: Glazing Safety

Part O: Overheating

Part P: Electrical Safety

Part Q: Security

Part R: Physical Infrastructure (high-speed electronic communications networks)