Building Control

Building Control

*New information for customers*

New guidance for the June 2022 editions of the Technical Booklet Guidance to Part F (Conservation of fuel and power) of the Building Regulations (NI) 2012 (as amended) come into effect on 30th June 2022.

The Department of Finance published the new guidance documents on 25th March 2022 that outline the key checks that will be required from designers and applicants for applications that are submitted from the implementation date of 30th June 2022.

The main changes identified in the technical booklet are:

• New guidance is provided to further support regulation 43B (Nearly zero-energy requirements for new buildings) (‘NZEB’), requiring NZEB buildings to better the previous Target carbon dioxide Emissions Rate (TER) by 40% in the case of new houses and 25% in the case of new flats.

• The guidance sets improved U-value limits for elements of new buildings.  A whole building area-weighted U-value assessment provides an alternative approach, provided the U-values deliver the same overall performance.

• The option in previous guidance, for an alternative to pressure testing on small developments permitting a default value of 15 m3/(h.m2) as 50 Pa, has been removed.

• New guidance also deals with circumstances where an export connection is not provided from on-site renewables that generate electricity. (e.g. photovoltaic panels)

• Other minor amendments clarify or rectify previous guidance to reflect current working and enforcement practices.  The changes include re-wording to promote an expectation of air-tightness testing and to clarify provisions in relation to thermal bridge assessments.

Further information and an awareness briefing on the 2022 amendments to the Technical Booklets, Part F can be found HERE and HERE. 

Amendment to The Building Regulations NI & Prescribed Fees from 1 April 2022

For information please note that from the 1st April 2022, Building Regulation fees will be increased in accordance with legislator amendments.

To identify the revised fee requirements, please follow the link below to see the increase in fees as set out in:

The Building (Prescribed Fees) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

Also of note, the following amendments to the principle Regulations in relation to Parts A, B & C will be introduced on 1 April 2022

Part A (Interpretation and general)

Part B (Materials and workmanship)

Part C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture)                                

To view the detail of the changes to The Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 CLICK HERE.

With changes to the principle Regulations, amendments have been made to Technical Booklets B, C and E – AMD 7, to access these CLICK HERE.

To view the ‘Radon in Northern Ireland: Indicative Atlas’, of 2015 click on the links below. 

Radon in Northern Ireland: Indicative Atlas (Maps with place names) 

Radon in Northern Ireland: Indicative Atlas (Maps without place names) 

To access an awareness briefing from the Department of Finance CLICK HERE 

From the 30th June 2022 AMD-8 an amendment will be made to Technical Booklet R. This makes the requirement for Changing Places toilets to be provided in certain retail, assembly, leisure, hospital and primary care type buildings. For further information, please CLICK HERE to view the requirements and CLICK HERE to access an awareness briefing from the Department of Finance.  

---

RE-INTRODUCTION OF BUILDING CONTROL SITE INSPECTIONS

Our Building Control service has reintroduced its site inspection service for open air sites and for unoccupied buildings subject to a 24 hour notice period being given to LCCC and where safe conditions are met on site.

A site inspection may be refused if the necessary health and safety arrangements are not met.

Anyone wishing to book an inspection is advised to request an inspection 24 hours prior to its requirement by email at building.control@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk or by telephone on 028 9244 7300 to allow Building Control to keep a record of requests and arrange the necessary inspection to demonstrate Building Control compliance under difficult circumstances.

Building Control shall continue to respond to any Dangerous Structure requests to safeguard public health. Please telephone 028 9244 7300 to report a Dangerous Structure

---

The aim of the Building Control Service is to deliver a customer orientated quality service to architects, designers, developers, builders, solicitors and the general public, and as such ensure a safer and healthier built environment for all.

As well as enforcing the application of The Building Regulations, the Building Control Service has a responsibility for Street Naming, Dangerous Buildings legislation, Energy Performance of Buildings Legislation, assisting with the processing of Property Certificates, and the provision of other technical advice to the Council.