Do I need building regulations approval for a new kitchen or bathroom?
The units themselves are not controlled work — the electrics, drainage, ventilation and any structural change are, and that is what decides the answer.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 10 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Fitting units, worktops and tiling is not notifiable. New electrical circuits, moving or adding drainage, adding or altering mechanical ventilation, and any structural alteration all are. A straight replacement in the same layout often needs nothing but the electrical certificate; moving anything usually needs building control.
This is a short question with a definite answer, and the confusion comes from thinking about the room rather than the work. Building control has no interest in your cabinet doors. It has a clear interest in the circuit feeding the oven, the waste pipe you moved, and the extractor discharging into a void.
Step by step
- Separate the cosmetic work from the controlled work.Units, worktops, tiling, splashbacks, flooring and decoration are not controlled. Electrics, drainage, ventilation and structure are.
- Treat the electrical work as notifiable until proven otherwise.New circuits for an oven, hob or shower are notifiable. In a bathroom, the special location rules make more electrical work notifiable than elsewhere. A registered electrician self-certifies and issues the certificate.
- Check whether drainage is moving.New or altered above-ground and below-ground drainage is controlled work. Moving a toilet, adding a second basin or relocating a kitchen sink typically brings this in, and falls and vent arrangements are exactly what goes wrong.
- Check the ventilation requirement.Kitchens and bathrooms have minimum ventilation requirements, met by an extractor of adequate performance discharging to outside. An extractor venting into a loft or a void is a common and damaging shortcut.
- Check whether anything structural is changing.Knocking through to a dining room, widening a doorway, or removing a chimney breast are structural and notifiable, and need an engineer's design.
- Check windows and doors.Replacement windows and external doors are controlled work with their own certification route through a registered installer scheme, separate from the rest of the job.
- Collect the certificates at the end.Electrical installation certificate or minor works certificate, the scheme's building regulations compliance certificate, and any window scheme certificate. These are what you will be asked for at sale.
Tips
- A bathroom is a special location for electrical purposes, which is why a like-for-like light change in a bedroom and the same change in a bathroom are treated differently.
- Extractor performance and duct route matter more than the fan's badge. A long flexible duct with tight bends can more than halve real extraction.
- If you are moving a bathroom above a room with no ventilation route, get the ventilation designed before you fix the layout.
Questions people ask
Do I need building regulations approval to fit a kitchen?
Not for the units. Yes for new electrical circuits, altered drainage, ventilation and any structural alteration. A like-for-like refit often needs only the electrical certificate.
Do I need building regulations approval for a new bathroom?
Usually some part of it, because bathrooms bring in electrical special-location rules, drainage and ventilation. Ring building control and describe the work if you are unsure.
Does converting a bedroom into a bathroom need approval?
Yes — new drainage, ventilation and electrical work in a special location, and sometimes structural work for the additional load. Register it before starting.