Building Regulations Legislation
Building Regulations legislation falls into two distinct categories:
Primary Legislation
Primary legislation is the legislation that grants powers to the Department and imposes duties and responsibilities on the Department and other bodies. The primary legislation for building regulations within Northern Ireland is the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (as amended 1990 and 2009).
Subordinate Legislation
Subordinate (or “secondary”) legislation is the name given to regulations or orders written under powers granted by primary legislation. Within Northern Ireland, these take the form of Statutory Rules. There are two main Statutory Rules for building regulations in Northern Ireland:
The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 : These regulations impose certain mandatory requirements in relation to the construction, alteration or extension of a building and certain services and fittings. Since they came into operation on 1 April 2001 they have been amended by-
- The Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, which came into operation on 3 October 2005 and amended Part E: Fire safety
- The Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, which came into operation on 30 November 2006 and amended Part F: Conservation of fuel and power, Part L: Combustion appliances and fuel storages systems and Part R: Access to and use of buildings
- The Building (Amendment No.2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 further clarified the intent of the preceeding amendment and also came into operation on 30 November 2006.
- The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 amended the building regulations to substitute references to Energy Rating Notices with Energy Performance Certificates.
The Building (Prescribed Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997: These regulations allow district councils to charge fees for certain functions related to building control, and set the levels of fees that may be charged.
