Rules & Regulations of Modular Buildings

Building regulations are one of the most important things that construction workers or any firm whose purpose is to erect modular buildings must follow. There are some policies and rules that building contractors must follow in order for them to start on a build, and it's important to know the rules you have to comply with.

What You Need to Know Prior to a Build

The most important thing that you need before you start on any build, whether it is constructing a building with bricks and mortar or installing a modular building, is to get the necessary planning permission.

Planning permission is the legal process that results in an approval that is required for construction or expansion work to take place in a certain area. It covers a whole array of situations, which include some of the following:

• If you want to make a significant change to an existing building, such as an extension

• If you are building something new within a town or city

If you are changing the use of your building

How Much Information Goes into Getting Planning Permission

In order to get the right planning permission, you need to get your local planning authority (LPA) to grant it based on the development plan. To do this, your LPA will look at:

• The size, layout, and external appearance of the buildings

• The infrastructure that is available

• Any landscaping needs

• What you want to use the development for

• How it will affect the surrounding environment

Once the LPA has taken these points into account, they will then decide whether to grant your project planning permission. In the UK, this usually takes up to eight weeks but can take longer if the project is rather complex. 

Do Modular Buildings Require Planning Permission?

It depends on how long the modular building will be there. If the newly installed modular building will be there for less than four weeks, then it doesn't require planning permission, and the same goes if the modular building is being used to refurbish your existing building. However, if you are intending on the modular building for the foreseeable, then planning permission is required.

Are There Any Other Regulations?

When installing a modular building, it needs to comply with relevant regulations known as building regulations. These building regulations are different to planning permission; planning permission focuses on how the newly installed building with affect the exterior and surrounding environment of where the original building is located, whereas building regulations focus on ensuring the design and construction of new and refurbished buildings are of an approved standard.