Building Regulations are not planning permission
Two separate regimes, two separate approvals, and the one most likely to land on the builder is not the one people talk about.
Applies to England. Facts last checked 5 Aug 2026. Guides describe England; other UK nations run separate planning systems.
They answer different questions
Planning permission asks whether the development is acceptable in that place: its size, its effect on neighbours, how it looks. Building Regulations ask whether what gets built is safe and sound — structure, fire, insulation, ventilation, drainage, electrics.
A job can need both, either, or neither. The two most common misunderstandings on site are the same mistake in opposite directions: assuming permitted development means no approval at all, and assuming planning permission means the construction has been signed off. Neither follows.
Permitted development still needs Building Regulations
An extension built under permitted development needs no planning application and still needs Building Regulations approval. So does most structural work, a new bathroom, a rewire, a replacement boiler, and a loft conversion — whether or not a planning officer ever sees it.
This is where a trade carries real exposure. The homeowner remembers being told "you don’t need permission", hears that as "no paperwork", and the person holding the certificate at the end is the one who did the work.
The two routes, and how long each takes
A full plans application submits drawings and specifications for checking before work starts. A decision is expected within five weeks, or two months with your agreement, and an approval notice lasts three years from the date the plans were deposited.
A building notice is for smaller domestic work and carries no formal approval: you submit it and can start two days later, with inspection happening as the work proceeds. It is quicker and it puts the risk on you — nothing has been checked in advance, so anything wrong is found when it is built.
The completion certificate is the one that matters later
Either route ends with a completion certificate from building control confirming the work was inspected and complies. That is the document a solicitor asks for when the house is sold, sometimes years afterwards, and its absence is what turns a finished job into a problem.
Tradecue only sees the planning side. Nothing in this product tells you whether Building Regulations were applied for or granted — that is a separate register held by building control, and we do not hold it.
Sources
- Building regulations approval: when you need approval (GOV.UK)
- Building regulations approval: how to apply (GOV.UK)
- Planning Portal: full plans applications
General explanation, not legal or planning advice. Anything that turns on the detail of a particular site is worth a free phone call to the council’s planning department. Something here wrong or out of date? Tell us.