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Regulation 3 Building control authorities: restricted activities and functionsI1

England and Wales

(1)

For the purposes of section 46A(1) of the 1984 Act, the following activities are prescribed as a restricted activity—

(a)

where plans relating to any building work are submitted to F1a building control authority under any provision of the 2010 Regulations F2or the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025, the checking of those plans for compliance with any requirement of the building regulationsf1 which is applicable to that building work;

(b)

where an inspection of building work is to be carried out by a building control authority for the purpose of checking compliance with any requirement of the building regulations which is applicable to the work, the carrying out of that inspection and scheduling the stages or points for inspections.

(2)

For the purposes of section 46A(2) of the 1984 Act, the following functions are prescribed as a restricted function—

(a)

determining an application for a direction under section 8 of the 1984 Act (relaxation of building regulations);

(b)

F3determining an application for building control approval under regulation 14D (determination of applications for building control approval with full plans: Wales) of the 2010 Regulations and regulation 7 (building control approval applications for HRB work or stage of HRB work: decisions) and regulation 15 (building control approval applications for work to existing HRB: decisions) of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025, including exercising, in relation to such an application, a power in—,

(i)

section 19(1) of the 1984 Act (use of short-lived materials),

(ii)

section 21(4) of the 1984 Act (provision of drainage), or

(iii)

section 25(1) of the 1984 Act (provision of water supply);

(c)

fixing a period on the expiration of which a building or building work must be removed, extending such a period, imposing conditions in relation to a building or varying such conditions, under section 19(2) or (3) of the 1984 Act (use of short-lived materials);

(d)

requiring a building to be drained in combination under section 22 of the 1984 Act (drainage of buildings in combination);

(e)

giving consent under section 23 of the 1984 Act (provision of facilities for refuse);

(f)

giving a notice or granting a certificate under section 25(3) of the 1984 Act (provision of water supply);

(g)

exercising any power under section 33 of the 1984 Act (tests for conformity with building regulations);

(h)

deciding, for the purposes of section 35 of the 1984 Act (penalty for contravening building regulations), whether there is a contravention of a provision contained in building regulations;

(i)

giving a section 36 noticef2 or deciding to pull down or remove work or effect alterations in it as deemed necessary under section 36(3) of the 1984 Act (removal or alteration of offending work);

(j)

deciding whether to withdraw a section 36 notice where a written report is given under section 37(1)(a) of the 1984 Act (obtaining of report where section 36 notice given);

(k)

giving a cancellation notice under section 52A(4) of the 1984 Act (cancellation of initial notice when work becomes higher-risk building work)f3;

(l)

giving a completion certificate under regulation 17 of the 2010 Regulations (completion certificates);

(m)

giving a completion certificate under regulation 17A of the 2010 Regulations (certificate for building occupied before work is completed)f4;

(n)

deciding, where regulation 18 of the 2010 Regulations (unauthorised building work) applies, whether—

(i)

a regularisation certificate under regulation 18 of the 2010 Regulations may be given;

(ii)

any reasonable steps are required under regulation 18(3) of the 2010 Regulations;

(o)

deciding, where F4regulation 17(1) of the 2024 Regulations (partly completed work) applies, whether—

(i)

plans given under F5regulation 17(2)(a) of the 2024 Regulations are sufficient to show that the intended work would not contravene any requirement of the 2010 Regulations;

(ii)

an owner should be required to cut into, lay open or pull down any of the work under F6regulation 17(2)(b) of the 2024 Regulations.

F7(p)

giving approval, that staged higher-risk building work, may proceed beyond a point specified in a requirement imposed in the approval of that work;

(q)

determining a change control application for higher-risk building work;

(r)

determining is a controlled change to a higher-risk building work is a notifiable or major change;

(s)

giving a compliance notice under section 35B of the 1984 Act (compliance notices);

(t)

giving a stop notice under section 35C of the 1984 Act (stop notices);

(F8u)

determining an application under regulation 43 of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (completion certificate applications: decisions);

(v)

determining a partial completion certificate under regulation 44 of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (partial completion certificates);

(w)

an application of regularisation of unauthorised building work under regulation 46 of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (regularisation of unauthorised building work).

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Words in reg. 3(1) substituted (1.7.2026) by The Building Safety Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/55), regs. 1(2), 12(2) (with reg. 13)

F2

Words in reg. 3(1)(a) inserted (1.7.2026) by The Building etc. (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/60), regs. 1(2)(a), 6(2)

F3

Words in reg. 3(2)(b) substituted (1.7.2026) by The Building etc. (Amendment) (No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1320), regs. 1(2), 18(2)(a) (with reg. 21)

F4

Words in reg. 3(2)(o) substituted (1.1.2025) by The Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/1268), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(a)

F5

Words in reg. 3(2)(o)(i) substituted (1.1.2025) by The Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/1268), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(b)

F6

Words in reg. 3(2)(o)(ii) substituted (1.1.2025) by The Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/1268), regs. 1(2), 41(3)(c)

F7

Reg. 3(2)(p)-(w) inserted (1.7.2026) by The Building etc. (Amendment) (No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1320), regs. 1(2), 18(2)(b) (with reg. 21)

F8

Reg. 3(2)(u) substituted (20.7.2026) by The Building etc. (Amendment) (No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/112), regs. 1(2), 4

Commencement

I1

Reg. 3 in force at 6.4.2024, see reg. 1(3)

Footnotes

f1

See the definition of “building regulations” in section 122 of the 1984 Act.

f2

See the definition of “section 36 notice” in section 36(4) of the 1984 Act.

f3

Section 52A was inserted into the 1984 Act by section 46 of the 2022 Act.

f4

Regulation 17A was inserted into the Building Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2214) by S.I. 2012/3119.