The new 2021 Building Regulations are the first major update we have had since 2013, therefore, the changes are significant and are going to have a major effect on the Building industry.

We have included below a brief summary of the key changes implemented to Part L 2021: Volume 1 – Dwellings:

• Photographic Evidence;
  • A mandatory Government requirement to enable the production of domestic new build EPCs
  • Must be taken for each plot at various construction stages of multiple details and must be geotagged
  • Commissioning documents for M&E installations will also be required to produce the EPC

• Overheating;
  • A new Building Regulation ‘Part O’ has been published which is a separate exercise and should be a factor early on in the design process
  • Overheating check has been removed from SAP

• Accredited Construction Details;
  • ‘Approved’ details have been removed
  • Established schemes or bespoke calculations will be required to be used to achieve compliance
  • This is going to be a key element in achieving compliance!

• U-values / Air testing;
  • U-values have been improved throughout
  • Air testing will be required for all dwelling’s, no sample testing allowed

• Lighting Design;
  • Lighting design will now be required from the designers

• Hot Water;
  • Manufacturer, model and flow rate of all showers will be required

Notional building specification comparison:

For further information on the new Part O, Part L: Volume 1 and Volume 2, please contact us for your free copy of our PDF documents.