Part L regs: you have five weeks to comply

The construction industry has voiced its fury at the government for forcing through changes to Part L energy efficiency Building Regulations without consultation on the final drafts, and claimed it is setting a “very dangerous precedent”.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) last week told contractors that all new buildings without full approval before 6 April must comply with the new Part L Building Regulations.

Thus, the industry has five weeks remaining of the six-week transition period allowed by the government.

National Federation of Builders consultant Roger Humner said the organisation is pressing the government for more time as it has still to see final plans. He told CJ: “It really is quite outrageous. It’s opening the door to non-compliance on regulations. It’s a dangerous precedent that the ODPM is setting.”

As CJ went to press, the industry is still waiting for the final draft of the new regulations and the final software packages to comply with them.

A spokesman for the ODPM said that approval of the soft-ware is “expected soon”.

National House-Building Council (NHBC) general manager for regions and technical Neil Jefferson told CJ: “It’s been developed over a long, long time and at the end they have decided to shove it through too quickly.

“Part L does involve a new level of complexity and that’s why we’re surprised it’s being brought in this way.”

Construction Products Association industry affairs director John Tebbit agreed the issue lies in contractors being required to change working practices very quickly.

He said: “There’s not a lot of difference from 2002’s changes, apart from back then you got five months to get ready instead of six weeks. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t cause any problems.”

The changes may see contractors meeting targets over a whole building by specifying a different form of insulation, or they may have more far-reaching effects such as contractors switching from traditional to offsite construction.

Jefferson said the construction industry will see a dip in activity while contractors work out how it will affect their projects.

He said: “Part L goes to the heart of the building’s fabric and builders will be waiting to see what changes they will have to make.”

One industry source told CJ: “People will take some months to work out what’s needed.”

The NHBC, which currently approves building regulations for Part L, told contractors it wanted applications under current rules in by last week.

Jefferson told CJ: “It does put a massive burden on us and local authority-approved inspectors to get the work completed by 6 April.”

The ODPM spokesman said: “The industry has been given the time, training and information to be able to plan effectively for the revised Part L and provided they do so, there should not be any dip in construction or going back to the drawing board.”