Guide
Do you need building regulations approval for a new kitchen?
Fitting or replacing kitchen units does not need planning permission or building regulations approval anywhere in the UK, but parts of the job often do. Electrics, gas, ventilation, structural changes and new drainage are covered by rules that differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and listed buildings and flats can need extra consents.
Does a new kitchen need planning permission?
No, not in itself. Fitting or replacing a kitchen does not need planning permission in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The exceptions are listed buildings, where listed building consent may be needed for internal works that affect character, and flats, where a new vent or flue through an outside wall may need planning permission and the freeholder's consent.
Leaseholders usually need the freeholder's written consent, often called a licence for alterations, for structural work or for moving services such as the sink or a gas supply. Check your lease before ordering anything, as getting consent can take several weeks and some freeholders charge a fee to consider the request.
What are the rules for kitchen electrics in each nation?
In England and Wales, notifiable work is self-certified by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who notifies the council, or approved through building control. Wherever you live, you should receive an Electrical Installation Certificate for new circuits or a Minor Works Certificate for additions. The main differences are:
- England: under Part P, new circuits, a new consumer unit and work in rooms with a bath or shower are notifiable. Adding sockets or spurs to an existing kitchen circuit is not, but must still meet BS 7671.
- Wales: Part P is wider. As well as new circuits and consumer units, extending an existing circuit within a kitchen is notifiable, so most kitchen electrical work is.
- Scotland: electrical work in a house does not normally need a building warrant, but it must meet the building standards and BS 7671.
- Northern Ireland: there is no Part P-style notification, but work should be designed, installed and tested to BS 7671 and certified.
Who can connect a gas hob or cooker?
Across the UK, including Northern Ireland, gas hobs, cookers and gas pipework should only be fitted, connected, moved or disconnected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. By law, anyone doing gas work for payment must be on the Gas Safe Register, and anyone working on gas must be competent to do it. Ask to see the engineer's Gas Safe ID card, which shows the types of gas work they are qualified to carry out.
If the kitchen has an open-flued gas appliance, such as some older boilers or gas fires, a new cooker hood or extract fan can pull fumes back down the flue into the room. A Gas Safe engineer should carry out a spillage test with the extraction running.
How much ventilation does a kitchen need?
In England and Wales, Approved Document F expects a kitchen to have extract ventilation. For intermittent extraction, that is about 30 litres per second from a cooker hood extracting outside, or 60 litres per second from a fan elsewhere in the room. A refit should not leave the ventilation worse than it was before.
A recirculating hood filters grease and smells but does not remove moisture, so another means of extract is usually needed alongside it. In Scotland, the domestic Technical Handbook (standard 3.14) also expects kitchen extract, and fitting an extractor fan does not normally need a warrant. In Northern Ireland, Technical Booklet K covers ventilation.
What about structural changes and knock-throughs?
Removing a load-bearing wall needs a structural engineer's design and Building Regulations approval: through building control in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or a building warrant obtained before work starts in Scotland, followed by a completion certificate. Removing a non-load-bearing partition is simpler; in Scotland it does not usually need a warrant in a house, but in a flat it can where it affects the escape route or fire separation.
In England and Wales, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply, for example where a new beam bears into a wall shared with a neighbour. The Act does not apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where neighbour matters are handled differently.
What about drainage and fire safety?
Connecting a sink, dishwasher or washing machine to an existing waste or stack is routine work. New connections to underground drains, or changes to how waste water is discharged, involve building control in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or a building warrant in Scotland. Plumbing should also meet the water fittings rules that apply in each nation.
In Scotland, every home must now have interlinked smoke and heat alarms, including a heat alarm in the kitchen. Elsewhere, a refit is a good moment to check that alarms work and are suitably placed, and to keep the hob away from doors and curtains.
Who makes sure the work complies?
Responsibility sits with the people doing the work and with you as the owner. In practice, the electrician certifies the electrical work, the Gas Safe registered engineer records the gas work, and building control, or the local authority building standards service in Scotland, inspects structural and drainage work. Keep every certificate, as solicitors ask for them when a home is sold.
On our jobs, notifiable work is identified at the survey and shown in the quote, along with who will notify or apply for it. Where an engineer, building control or a building warrant is needed, we arrange it before the relevant work starts, so nothing has to be opened up again later.
Listed buildings and flats
In a listed building, ask the local planning authority before removing historic features, cutting new openings or vents, or altering walls, as works carried out without consent can be a criminal offence. This applies in all four nations, though the authority and the paperwork differ.
In flats, the structure, outside walls and shared drains usually belong to the freeholder, so check the lease and get written consent before structural work, new vents or moving services. When in doubt about any of these rules, check with your local authority before work starts.
Questions
Do I need a certificate for kitchen electrics?
Yes, you should receive one for any new electrical work. Electricians issue an Electrical Installation Certificate for new circuits and a Minor Works Certificate for additions to existing circuits, both to BS 7671. In England and Wales, notifiable work is also notified to the council through a competent person scheme or approved by building control.
Can I fit a gas hob myself?
We strongly advise against it. Anyone working on gas must be competent, and anyone doing it for payment must be Gas Safe registered; a mistake can cause a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning. Use a Gas Safe registered engineer, who will test the installation for tightness and check the appliance is working safely.
Does a new kitchen need a building warrant in Scotland?
Not usually. Replacing kitchen fitments, adding an extractor fan and most electrical work in a house do not need a building warrant, though the work must still meet the building standards. Removing a load-bearing wall or changing how waste water is discharged does need a warrant before work starts, then a completion certificate.
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This guide is general information about kitchen fitting in the UK, not legal, tax, electrical or structural advice for your property. Rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; check with your local authority or a qualified adviser before relying on it.