Building regulations approval for homeowners

Important building control notice

Solihull Council has been made aware that Aedis Regulatory Services (trading as Aedis) has gone into liquidation and no longer possesses the required professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance cover to directly provide their Approved Inspector role.

These insurances are essential when undertaking the building control element of building work/projects. 

For home improvements, Building Regulations approval will be needed. Ensuring that buildings are constructed to an agreed standard, the regulations are complex, but are essential to promote accessibility, health and safety and energy efficiency in the home.

Planning Portal

You can make a building control application at the Planning Portal

The Planning Portal can also help you:

Common building works requiring approval

Many popular home improvement projects require approval, including conversions, extensions and cavity wall insulation. Being so complicated, it is important that you understand what you need to do. 

To help, you can:

You can also contact us with any questions about the works you're planning.

Use our Building Regulations approval service

We're dedicated to delivering a first class service for all home improvements in Solihull and offer a full Building Control service. To use our service, you can:

Selecting the right builder

Ensuring your home improvements comply with Building Regulations is your responsibility. Selecting a competent builder helps ensure this. To avoid choosing a poor quality builder you should:

  • get a plan of the work to be done
  • get the right consents and permissions
  • ask friends and family for recommendations
  • ask to see previous and ongoing work
  • get at least 3 quotations
  • obtain a written contract
  • ensure they have the right insurances in place
  • not pay in advance
  • agree to pay final settlement upon receipt of the building control completion certificate

Further advice to help select the best builder for the job is available from the No Rogue Traders Here scheme, which aims to promote reliable traders. You should also choose a builder that is a member of reputable trade organisation such as:

Other permissions needed

In some cases, other authorisation will be needed before work starts. Advice on what other permission may be needed is available at the Planning Portal, and for you it may include seeking approval for:

How personal data is used on a Building Regulations application

As a statutory obligation, we hold a register of all valid Building Regulations applications. All documents and other information submitted are publically available.

This information is used strictly in accordance with The Data Protection Act and in line with the Information Commissioner’s Office Guidance on Planning and Building Regulation Information.

This means that only personal information in the public interest will be used online. As a result, we will remove:

  • personal email addresses
  • signatures
  • telephone numbers