Building regs for loft conversion used as office

If I'm converting a loft for use as a home office rather than a bedroom, will I still need to meet certain building regs?

Asked by Elly on 15th Dec 2022
Expert Trade Answers
"Building Regulations approval will always be required when converting a loft. A building control surveyor will come to site to inspect your conversion at various stages and will be responsible for issuing a completion certificate upon final inspection.

When it comes to a loft conversion, you are most likely to be concerned with Parts L, K, B and P of the Building Regulations.

Part L requires U-value targets for thermal efficiency to be met when you convert your loft into habitable space.
Part K concerns preventative measures from falling, collisions and impact, and requires a minimum headroom of 2m for all escape routes, including the stairs (although the rules are relaxed a little for staircases providing access to a loft conversion).
Parts B and P are concerned with fire and electrical safety respectively. Complying with Building Regs’ requirements on fire safety can be complex (more on that later in the article).

Kind regards
VM CARPENTERY&JOINERY LTD"
Answered on 15th Dec 2022 - Member since Mar 2019 - report
"You need building regulations if you are doing any structural work, you will also need to meet fire regs, there will need to be away of escaping if there was a fire."
Answered on 15th Dec 2022 - Member since Mar 2020 - report
"If you want to convert a loft to use as a office with roof windows I doesn't need building regulations but still need to double check"
Answered on 15th Dec 2022 - Member since Dec 2022 - report
"A loft conversion of any kind other than storage space needs to have building regulations inspected"
Answered on 15th Dec 2022 - Member since Nov 2022 - report
Find Tradespeople, compare up to 3 quotes!
It's FREE and there are no obligations
Ask a Trade
Got a question that only a tradesperson can answer? We have thousands of trades ready to answer any question you may have.
Ask your question
Ask a Trade

Are you looking for advice on a DIY project or have a question for our tradespeople?

We'll email your question to tradespeople who are skilled in your chosen category.

Your question will be made public - please do not include any personal details.

{{ first(ask.errors)[0] }}

By continuing you agree to the Community Guidelines.

Report Content

{{ first(reportForm.errors) }}

Thank you

Your report has been created and will be investigated shortly.

Ready to get a price for your home improvement project?
Get started

Over 1 million homeowners and over 50,000 tradespeople
use MyJobQuote nationwide each year