Building Notices vs Full Plans: What Architects Need to Know About the Latest Building Control Changes

The Building Safety Act has fundamentally changed the way building projects are designed, managed, and approved in England. While much of the attention has focused on higher-risk buildings, important changes are also affecting everyday domestic projects particularly the use of Building Notices.

Two years after the Building Safety Act came into force, the government is now consulting on proposals that could significantly restrict the use of Building Notices for new homes and strengthen plan approval requirements across the building control system.

So, what does this mean for architects, designers, contractors, and clients?

What Is a Building Notice?

A Building Notice is one of the procedural routes available under the Building Regulations 2010 for notifying a local authority that building work is about to begin.

Unlike a Full Plans application, a Building Notice allows work to commence just two days after submission without requiring detailed drawings to be approved beforehand.

Instead of checking compliance before construction begins, the local authority assesses compliance through inspections as work progresses. Additional information, such as structural calculations or technical details, can be requested during construction if required. While this can make the process appear quicker, it's important to understand what a Building Notice is not.

It is not a shortcut around the Building Regulations.

Nor does it reduce the legal obligation to demonstrate compliance.

The Common Misconception

One of the biggest misunderstandings surrounding Building Notices is the belief that the Building Inspector will effectively solve design issues during construction.

That has never been the intention of the process.

The Building Notice route relies on competent designers and contractors producing compliant work from the outset. The Building Inspector is there to verify compliance not to carry the design responsibility or resolve every technical issue that arises on site.

This misconception can create unnecessary risk, particularly where clients or contractors assume that the absence of approved drawings somehow means the regulatory requirements are less stringent.

In reality, the legal obligations remain exactly the same.

When Are Building Notices Appropriate?

Building Notices were originally designed for relatively straightforward domestic work where compliance is well understood.

Typical examples include:

• Small domestic extensions

• Simple structural alterations

• Loft conversions

• Minor refurbishment works

For these projects, the inspection-led approach can be proportionate.

However, as projects become more complex, the limitations of the Building Notice route

become increasingly apparent.

Building Notices After the Building Safety Act

When the Building Safety Act came into force on 1 October 2023, it introduced the most significant reforms to building safety in decades.

Importantly, it did not abolish Building Notices.

Instead, it increased the responsibilities placed on everyone involved in a project through the introduction of statutory dutyholder roles.

Architects, principal designers, contractors and principal contractors now carry much clearer legal responsibilities for ensuring compliance with the Building Regulations.

This means that regardless of whether a project proceeds via a Full Plans application or a Building Notice, the responsibility for producing compliant designs remains firmly with the project team.

Government Evidence Raises Concerns

Recent evidence gathered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government suggests Building Notices are causing more problems than originally intended.

Feedback from local authorities indicates that projects using the Building Notice route are:

• More likely to breach the Building Regulations

• More likely to require additional site inspections

• More expensive for local authorities to regulate

• More likely to encounter compliance issues during construction

For more complex projects, local authorities often charge higher fees for Building Notices because of the increased inspection workload.

This challenges the long-held assumption that Building Notices are always the quicker or cheaper option.

In many cases, they are neither.

The 2026 Government Consultation

On 2 April 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a consultation titled:

"Plan Approval Requirements for New Builds and Fire Safety Order Buildings."

The consultation proposes significant reforms to the building control process, including restricting the use of Building Notices for certain projects.

The proposals focus on four main areas:

• Requiring Full Plans applications for all new dwellings.

• Introducing mandatory Plans Certificates within the Registered Building Control Approver route.

• Revising consultation requirements with Fire and Rescue Authorities.

• Implementing transitional arrangements for the new system.

Building Notices Could Be Removed for New Homes

Perhaps the most significant proposal is that new dwellings using the Local Authority Building Control route would no longer be eligible to use a Building Notice.

Instead, every new home would require a Full Plans application before construction begins.

The government's reasoning is straightforward.

New homes are increasingly complex buildings, and detailed plan approval before construction offers far greater confidence that the completed building will comply with the Building Regulations.

Early technical scrutiny also makes inspections during construction more effective.

The Building Safety Levy

Another factor driving these proposals is the introduction of the Building Safety Levy, due to come into force on 1 October 2026.

The levy applies to projects using either:

• Full Plans applications

• Initial Notices

However, it currently does not apply to Building Notices.

The government believes this creates an unintended incentive for developers to choose the Building Notice route purely to avoid paying the levy.

Removing Building Notices for new dwellings would close this potential loophole.

Changes to the Private Building Control Route

The consultation also seeks greater consistency between Local Authority Building Control and the Registered Building Control Approver (RBCA) route.

Currently, Registered Building Control Approvers generally review plans as good practice, but formal Plans Certificates are optional.

The proposal would make Plans Certificates mandatory for:

• New dwellings

• Buildings subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Importantly, final certificates could not be issued until an appropriate Plans Certificate had first been provided.

The consultation also proposes allowing Plans Certificates to be issued with conditions, enabling construction to progress while outstanding design information is completed at agreed project stages.

This reflects the reality that many projects continue to develop technically during construction.

Greater Fire and Rescue Authority Involvement

The consultation also proposes changes to consultation requirements with Fire and Rescue Authorities.

For buildings covered by the Fire Safety Order, such as commercial buildings, mixed-use developments and residential blocks, the government is proposing more structured consultation points throughout the approval process.

For architects working on these project types, this could mean greater engagement with Fire and Rescue Authorities during both design and construction.

What Does This Mean for Architects?

Although Building Notices remain available today for many domestic projects, the direction of travel is becoming increasingly clear.

The government is moving towards:

• Greater scrutiny of design information before construction begins.

• Increased consistency between public and private building control.

• Less reliance on compliance being demonstrated solely through site inspections.

For architects, this means Building Notices should no longer be viewed as the default option for domestic work.

Instead, the choice of building control route should reflect the complexity of the project and the level of technical design already completed.

For domestic extensions and refurbishments

Building Notices remain available for now.

However, given the growing evidence of increased compliance issues, architects should carefully consider whether a Full Plans application provides greater certainty for both the client and the project team.

For new dwellings

Practices should monitor the consultation closely.

If adopted, every new dwelling using the Local Authority route will require a Full Plans application from October 2026.

This will have implications for project programmes, technical design stages and client expectations.

For commercial and Fire Safety Order buildings

Architects should familiarise themselves with the proposed changes to Plans Certificates and Fire and Rescue Authority consultation requirements.

These proposals are likely to introduce additional approval stages but should ultimately improve building safety outcomes.

Final Thoughts

The key takeaway is not that Building Notices are inherently flawed.

Rather, they should be used where they are genuinely appropriate.

For simple domestic work, they may still provide a proportionate route to compliance. However, for more complex projects, the industry is clearly moving towards greater emphasis on technical design, earlier regulatory review and robust plan approval before construction begins.

That direction aligns with the wider objectives of the Building Safety Act: improving competence, increasing accountability and delivering safer buildings from the very start of the design process.