It's crucial that you contact us before you start any building work. This is to make sure that you consider any building regulations that may apply.

We can take legal action against anyone who hasn't applied for the right consents.

If you do need building regulations approval you'll need to apply to us. We'll then check your project at various stages. When it's finished we'll issue the completion certificates you'll need to show your build complies.

Your building regulations application and completion certificate are vital documents. You'll need them if you're planning to sell your property in the future or remortgage it. If you don't have the relevant paperwork you won't be able to provide it solicitors or estate agents. You'll need these during the sale of your property.

Retrospective inspections of unauthorised building work

In most cases we can inspect work that has been carried out. This is to find out if it complies with building regulations. The inspection can include opening up building works. For example, digging a hole next to the foundations or removing sections of wall and ceiling. You'll be liable for the cost of this. You'll also need to pay for work that needs to be done for the building work to be approved.

If it's found to be correct and in compliance with the building regulations, we can issue a regularisation certificate. This acts in the same way as a completion certificate.

If you're buying or selling a house that has had unapproved building work done on it, you'll need a certificate. In this case, you should fill in our regularisation of unauthorised building work application form. If the works were completed before 11 November 1985 you'll need to contact us.

When you fill the form in you’ll need to provide:

• Location plan with the site highlighted in red and all adjoining roads and properties. The plan should be no less than 1:1250 scale and should show the direction of north.

You may also need to provide copies of relevant documents, including:

• All building plans. Detailed plans and sections should be drawn to a recognisable scale normally not less than 1:100. 1:200 is permissible where the building was extensive. Plans should show any additional work required to be carried out to ensure that the unauthorised work complies with the requirements of the building regulations which were applicable to that work when it was carried out. They should also show compliance with fire safety requirements if the Fire Safety Order 2005 applies, or will apply after the completion of the building work.
• Supporting calculations.
• A copy of the qualification that shows the installer could issue the BS7671 installation certificate and the BS7671 installation certificate where possible.
• Other additional relevant information.

You can use the following link at DataSpace Live to make a regularisation certificate application. If you’re not registered you’ll need to do this first to set up an account. It should only take a few minutes before you can get started. Visit DataSpace Live to make a Regularisation Certificate application.

If you need to email us any supporting documents after you’ve submitted your application, please email buildingcontrol@barnsley.gov.uk quoting the site address.

You can see a full list of our building regulation fees and charges for our services. This list includes inspections.