Regulations
Revision as of 18:29, 20 January 2007 by John Stumbles (talk | contribs) (created skeleton article without links)
There are various Regulations affecting DIY work in the UK.
- The main ones are the Building Regulations which are set out in a series of Approved Documents (ADs). They are available online at
- The Building Regulations frequently refer to, and sometimes include material from, British Standards. (These increasingly are merging with European standards.) British Standards are not freely (and legally) available but must be purchased from the British Standards Institution. Most are available as PDF files (electronically "watermarked" with the name of the purchaser). One notable exception is BS7671, the regulations covering Electrical installations, published by the IET (formerly IEE: Institute of Electrical Engineers). This is only available as a paper document.
- The Gas Safety Installation and Use (1998) Regulations are a Statutory Instrument (meaning, roughly, that they are effectively a law but do not have to be passed by parliament) affecting work on Gas Installations and Appliances. One aspect of these regulations which comes up frequently in the context of DIY work is whether DIY gas work is legal. This is covered in detail elsewhere but in a nutshell if work is carried out for profit or reward or in the course of business then the person doing it must be CORGI registered. If it is purely DIY work done for onself then the person doing it must be "competent": a term which is not defined by the regulations.
- The Water Regulations
- The Party Wall Act also relates to any work affecting a wall shared between adjacent properties.
- Various other laws and regulations may apply in specific circumstances such as relating to the use of water from streams or rivers, disposal of wastes, causing nuisance etc.