Work done without a valid building warrant
It's an offence to carry out work which requires a building warrant without obtaining the relevant permission or to continue working on the project after the warrant has expired.
You may need to apply for a certificate or inspection if you've carried out work without a valid warrant. We may also take enforcement action (including issuing fines). It is also more than likely that you'll encounter problems when selling a property if the correct permission hasn't been obtained.
Date of work / warrant expiry | Reason for application | Action required |
---|---|---|
On or after 1 May 2005 | Work carried out without a warrant | Apply for a completion certificate where no building warrant obtained |
Building warrant has expired | ||
Between 1 June 1964 and 30 April 2005 | Minor building work to a house or flat that has been carried out without a building warrant | |
Work carried out with the necessary building warrant but no completion certificate was issued | ||
Before 1 June 1964 | Works carried out without the relevant building warrant approval | We won't investigate any work undertaken before 1 June 1964 |
We'll contact you to arrange an inspection within 14 days. We'll also write to you after the inspection to tell you whether further action is required.
Exempt development
We can provide written confirmation (often called a letter or comfort) that the work you intend to carry out is exempt from the building regulations or doesn't require a warrant. It costs £175 for a letter confirming an exemption and we'll need some detailed information about the work, contact us to discuss your request.
Some work is exempt from the regulations or doesn't require a warrant, we can provide written confirmation of this (often called a letter or comfort) if needed.