The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025
The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025 amend the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 and the Building Regulations 2010, primarily focusing on improving building safety and compliance procedures.
Key changes include revised notice requirements for completed building works, stricter reporting for when clients cannot provide statements from contractors or designers, and clarifying procedures for handling contraventions.
The regulations also prescribe cases where the Building Safety Regulator must provide copies of serious contravention orders to local authorities.
Transitional provisions ensure the amendments don't retrospectively apply to notices issued before the regulations' effective date.
Arguments For
Improved Building Safety: The amendments aim to enhance building safety by clarifying notice requirements and ensuring better communication between stakeholders.
Increased Accountability: The regulations increase accountability of dutyholders (principal contractors and designers) through stricter reporting and notification processes.
Streamlined Processes: While adding new requirements, the overall goal is to streamline processes for managing building projects, reducing ambiguity and potential for disputes.
Alignment with Building Safety Act 2022: The amendments align with the overall aims of the Building Safety Act 2022 to improve building safety standards in England.
Arguments Against
Increased Administrative Burden: The additional notice requirements and reporting obligations may increase administrative burden on developers, contractors, and designers.
Potential for Delays: The new procedures might cause delays in building projects if not implemented efficiently.
Unintended Consequences: The complexities of the changes may inadvertently lead to unanticipated challenges or complications in building project management.
Implementation Costs: The amendments may incur extra costs for businesses involved in the building process related to compliance and administration.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1(1), 47(2), 52(3) and 58Z5 of, and paragraphs 1A, 1D and 1F of Schedule 1 to, the Building Act 19841.In accordance with section 120B(3) of the Building Act 1984, the Secretary of State has consulted the regulator (which has the meaning given in section 126 of the Building Act 1984) and such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
The Secretary of State issued these regulations using powers granted by the Building Act 1984.
Consultations with the relevant regulator and other stakeholders were conducted in accordance with section 120B(3) of the same act.
These Regulations may be cited as the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025.
These regulations are officially titled the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025.
These Regulations come into force on 7th October 2025.
These regulations become legally effective on October 7, 2025.
These Regulations extend to England and Wales and apply in England only.
The regulations cover England and Wales, but their application is limited to England.
The term 'the 2010 Regulations' refers to the Building Regulations 2010 while 'the RBCA Regulations' refers to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024.
These definitions are used for clarification throughout the document.
The RBCA Regulations are amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 7.
Regulations 3 through 7 detail specific amendments to the RBCA Regulations.
In regulation 18 (compliance declarations) at the end of paragraph 18(e) substitute the full stop for a comma and insert— “and if for any reason the client is unable to include a statement under this paragraph for a person mentioned in this paragraph, the client must include a statement giving the reasons why that person’s statement has not been included.”.
Regulation 18 of the RBCA Regulations is amended.
If a client can't get a statement from a relevant person (contractor or designer), they must explain why in their compliance declaration.
After regulation 22 (local authority powers in relation to partially completed works) insert— “Completion notices 22A. (1) A person carrying out building work in circumstances where regulation 22(1) applies must, not more than 5 days after that work has been completed, give the relevant authority a notice which complies with paragraph (2). (2) The notice under paragraph (1) must include— (a) the name, address, telephone number and (if available) email address of the client; (b) the name, address, telephone number and (if available) email address of the principal contractor (or sole contractor) and principal designer (or sole or lead designer); (c) a statement that the building work is complete; (d) a statement, signed by the client, confirming that to the best of the client’s knowledge the work complies with all applicable requirements of the building regulations; (e) subject to paragraph (3), a statement, given by each principal contractor (or sole contractor) for the work and each principal designer (or sole designer) for the work, signed by the person to which the declaration relates which includes— (i) the name, address, telephone number and (if available) email address of that person; (ii) the dates of their appointment, and (iii) confirmation— (aa) in the case of a principal contractor (or sole contractor), that they fulfilled their duties as principal contractor under Part 2A (dutyholders and competence) of these Regulations; (bb) in the case of a principal designer (or sole designer), that they fulfilled their duties as principal designer under Part 2A (dutyholders and competence) of these Regulations. (3) If for any reason the person carrying out building work is unable to include statement for a person mentioned under paragraph (2)(e), the person carrying out the building work must include a statement giving the reasons why that person’s statement has not been included.”.
A new regulation (22A) is added to the RBCA Regulations requiring completion notices within 5 days of finishing building work.
These notices must include contact information for the client, principal contractor, and designer, confirmations of completion and compliance, and statements from contractors and designers affirming compliance with their duties.
If any of these statements are missing, the reason for its absence must be explained.
In regulation 32 (notices to local authorities on disciplinary matters in relation to approvers), after paragraph (3) insert— “(4) For the purposes of section 58Z5(7) of the 1984 Act, the following cases are prescribed— (a) any serious contravention notice given to a registered building control approver; (b) where such a notice is revoked.”.
Regulation 32 of the RBCA Regulations is amended to require registered building control approvers to provide copies of serious contravention notices to each local authority in England, as well as when such notices are revoked.
In Schedule 1 (forms), Form 10 is amended as follows. In Schedule 1 (forms), Form 10 is amended as follows.After paragraph 4 insert— “5. [(4) confirms it has received notice in accordance with regulation 21 of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 and the contravention has not been remedied within the time period. The contravention is] (6)”. In the section headed “NOTES” after paragraph (5) insert— “(6) Delete this statement if it does not apply. If it applies, specify the provision(s) of the building regulations (including the specific requirement) which is contravened.”.
Form 10 (Notice of Cancellation) in Schedule 1 of the RBCA Regulations is amended to include a section for declarations when the filling party is subject to a serious contravention notice. The 'Notes' section is updated to clarify this addition.
In Schedule 2 (grounds for rejecting an initial notice, an amendment notice or plans certificate combined with an initial notice)—
at the beginning of paragraph 13(2)(a) insert
;
after paragraph 13(2) insert—
“(3) sub-paragraph (2)(a) does not apply if—
(a) the earlier notice has been cancelled by the client or the approver;
(b) the client has received a notice of contravention in accordance with regulation 21(1); and
(c) the client has failed to remedy the contravention in the time specified in regulation 21(3).”“subject to sub-paragraph 3”
Schedule 2 (grounds for rejecting notices) of the RBCA Regulations is amended.
A new sub-paragraph is added stating that a previous notice cancellation, a contravention notice, and failure to rectify the contravention prevent the application of paragraph 13(2)(a).
The 2010 Regulations are amended in accordance with regulations 9 to 10.
Regulations 9 and 10 specify the amendments to the 2010 Regulations.
In regulation 16 (notices in relation to building work)—
at the beginning of paragraph (4A)(e) insert
;
after paragraph (4A) insert—
“(4B) If for any reason a person carrying out building work is unable to include a statement for a person mentioned under paragraph (4A)(e), the person carrying out the building work must include a statement giving the reasons why that person’s statement has not been included.”;
at the beginning of paragraph (5A)(e) insert “subject to paragraph (4B),”
;
at the end of paragraph (5A) for the full stop substitute a semi-colon and insert—
“(f) if a person carrying out building work is unable to include a statement for a person mentioned in sub-paragraph (e), the person carrying out the building work must include a statement giving reasons why that person’s statement has not been included.”.“subject to sub-paragraph (f),”
Regulation 16 of the 2010 Regulations is amended similarly to regulation 18 of the RBCA Regulations.
If statements from relevant persons are missing, a reason must be provided.
Subparagraphs (4B) and (5A)(f) are added to clarify this requirement.
In regulation 17(2) (completion certificates) after “16(4)” insert
.
In regulation 18A(1)(a) (appeal against refusal to grant certain certificates) after “16(4)” insert “of these Regulations or 22A(1) of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024”
.
In regulation 18C(1)(a) (appeal to the First-tier Tribunal in relation to certain decisions) after “16(4)” insert “of these Regulations or 22A(1) of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024”
.
In regulation 41(3)(b)(ii) (sound insulation testing) after “16(4)” insert “of these Regulations or 22A(1) of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024”
.
In regulation 44ZA(3)(b)(i) (commissioning in respect of a system for on-site electricity generation) after “16(4)” insert “of these Regulations or 22A(1) of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024”
.“of these Regulations or 22A(1) of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024”
Regulations 17(2), 18A(1)(a), 18C(1)(a), 41(3)(b)(ii), and 44ZA(3)(b)(i) of the 2010 Regulations are amended to include references to both Regulation 16(4) of these regulations and Regulation 22A(1) of the RBCA Regulations, reflecting the new completion notice requirements.
The amendments made by regulation 3 do not apply to any case where the notice required by regulation 18 of the RBCA Regulations has been given before the day on which these Regulations into force.
The amendments made by regulations 4, 6, and 7 do not apply in any case where the initial notice has been cancelled before the day on which these Regulations come into force.
The amendments made by regulation 9 do not apply to any case where the notice required by regulation 16(4) or 16(5) of the 2010 Regulation has been given to the relevant authority before the day these Regulations come into force.
In this regulation,“initial notice”
and “relevant authority”
have the meanings given in regulation 2(1) of the 2010 Regulations.
Transitional provisions are included to clarify that the amendments do not apply retrospectively.
The changes made by regulations 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 only affect notices issued after the regulations come into force.
The definitions for 'initial notice' and 'relevant authority' are taken from regulation 2(1) of the 2010 Regulations.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Samantha Dixon Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at 12.16 p.m. on 15th September 2025
These regulations were signed by Samantha Dixon, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, on September 15, 2025.
These Regulations amend the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/110) (“the RBCA Regulations”) and the Building Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2214) (“the 2010 Regulations”) as they apply in relation to England. Regulation 3 amends regulation 18 of the RBCA Regulations to require that, where a client is unable to provide a statement from the principal or sole contractor and/or the principal or sole designer upon completion, the notice must include a statement from the client explaining why such statements have not been provided. Regulation 9 provides for the same to be included in regulation 16 of the 2010 Regulations for completion notices relating to building works supervised by a local authority. Regulation 4 inserts a new regulation 22A into the RBCA Regulations which sets out the notice requirements on completion for works in which an initial notice has either ceased to be in force or has been cancelled and supervision of the works has reverted to the relevant authority. Regulation 10 makes consequential amendments to the 2010 Regulations to account for the new notice requirement. Regulation 5 prescribes that where the Building Safety Regulator has given a serious contravention order to a Registered Building Control Approver that they provide copies to each local authority in England. Regulation 6 amends Form 10 (Notice of Cancellation by Person Carrying out Work) contained in Schedule 1 to the RBCA Regulations. It provides for a declaration to be made where the person completing the form is subject to a serious contravention notice. Regulation 7 amends paragraph 13 of Schedule 2 of the RBCA Regulations to provide that a new initial notice cannot be given where an earlier initial notice has been cancelled by either the Registered Building Control Approver or the client and at such time the works subject are subject to a contravention notice. Regulation 11 contains transitional arrangements. The new regulation 22A, the amendments to Form 10 and the changes to paragraph 13 of Schedule 2 do not apply where an initial notice has been cancelled before the day on which these Regulations come into force. The amendments made to the notice requirements in regulation 18 of the RBCA Regulations and regulation 16 of the 2010 Regulations do not apply to notices served before the day on which these Regulations come into force. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.
This explanatory note summarizes the key changes introduced by the regulations.
It clarifies the amendments made to the RBCA Regulations and the 2010 Regulations regarding completion notices, compliance declarations, and contravention procedures.
It also notes the transitional provisions and states that a full impact assessment was deemed unnecessary due to the predicted minimal impact on various sectors.