New Build Compliance Checklist

Confirm the building use, project scope and applicable guidance with the design team and Building Control. This checklist focuses on dwellings; mixed-use schemes need separate consideration of their different spaces. Keep a schedule of required evidence alongside the drawing register so design changes trigger a check of affected reports.

The government's Approved Documents collection provides guidance across the regulatory subjects. Avoid treating an energy report as evidence for unrelated matters such as structure or access. Name who coordinates each discipline and who approves departures from the agreed design before site teams order substitutions.

• Start SAP Calculations using a coordinated drawing set and an explicit schedule of fabric and service assumptions.

Approved Document L provides energy-efficiency guidance, while the government's SAP guidance explains the dwelling assessment methodology. Establish the applicable assessment route rather than selecting products first and hoping the completed home will meet it.

Check insulation continuity, junction details, glazing and heating proposals together. A substituted window or revised roof build-up can affect several inputs. Keep evidence for the exact product and installed detail, including revisions, so the final model can reflect the dwelling that was actually built.

• Use U-Value Calculations for the specified constructions and Thermal Bridging Calculations where project-specific junction evidence is needed.
• Coordinate any applicable alternative-system assessment through Regulation 25A Reports against regulation 25A, rather than adding an unsupported declaration at completion.

Approved Document O provides overheating guidance for the residential building work within its scope. Resolve the assessment approach early enough to influence glazing and openings. Approved Document F addresses ventilation, so coordinate air paths and equipment with the same room layouts.

Consider operation as well as drawings. Window opening arrangements, external noise and available service space can affect whether a proposed approach is practical. Planning requirements differ by council; check project conditions alongside the planning practice guidance, and keep planning evidence separate from Building Regulations submissions.

• Agree Overheating Assessments before freezing elevations and opening arrangements.
• Coordinate Background Ventilation Calculations and Water Calculations; the latter supports the applicable water-efficiency guidance in Approved Document G.

Create a record of insulation, air-barrier junctions and service penetrations before concealment. Photographs need dwelling references and locations, not just a folder of unlabelled site images. Give subcontractors the current detail and explain who must approve changes where trades meet.

For relevant separating walls and floors, Approved Document E gives resistance-to-sound guidance and applicable evidence routes. Confirm the route for the actual construction. A product description by itself does not demonstrate how junctions and penetrations were completed.

• Review separating junctions through Acoustic Design before closing linings, and identify any planned Sound Insulation Testing access requirements.

Ask each testing provider for readiness requirements and build those into the programme. Rooms that look finished may still lack seals, controls, access or completed ventilation terminals. Test planning should identify what must be installed and what evidence must be available before the appointment.

Keep a route for fault-finding and remedial work. If a result is unsatisfactory, record the affected dwelling, likely cause, correction and subsequent verification. Avoid applying a repair across several plots before checking that it addresses the actual problem and remains compatible with other design requirements.

• Arrange Air Tightness Testing and Ventilation Testing with clear plot references and readiness checks.
• Include MVHR Commissioning where the installed system needs that service, keeping its records linked to the dwelling.

Compare final reports against installed products, test evidence and the latest drawings. Resolve inconsistent dwelling names or addresses before submission. Record who checked substitutions and whether revised calculations were needed. An orderly handover lets the recipient trace a conclusion back to its evidence.

The GOV.UK EPC guidance explains when a domestic energy certificate is required. Keep that deliverable distinct from the supporting design and as-built energy work rather than assuming either document replaces the other.

• Update SAP Calculations with the agreed as-built evidence and arrange the relevant EPC deliverable.