Who Notifies Building Control for a Re-Roof?

A like-for-like re-roof does not always need building control. Two figures matter in the Planning Portal's test: 25 per cent of the whole building envelope (walls, floor, roof and openings) and 50 per cent of the roof. Below both, an application is not normally expected.

When is an application needed?

Approval is expected where the new covering is at least 15 per cent heavier than the old, or would respond to fire very differently. A full re-roof covering most of the roof can go past the 50 per cent line.

Somerset Building Control does not state a re-roofing percentage. Its fee calculator lists a re-roof or insulation upgrade of a single home under work to a thermal element, so that is how a notifiable one is charged. Phone 0300 303 7790 if you are unsure, and describe the roof and the covering.

Unsure whether you need to apply? Pass us pictures of the roof from the street and the rear, along with the covering you have in mind. At the survey we measure the area against the building as a whole and tell you what we think the answer is. Your building control body has the final word, so a call before work starts is worth making.

Building Regulations dutyholders are the people with duties under the rules. On its website Somerset Building Control says every application involves three dutyholders: you as client, someone as principal designer, and someone as principal contractor. It adds: "If you do not have a Principal Designer or agent, you by default will be the Principal Designer".

Does that mean the homeowner does the paperwork?

It means the owner is the client and carries the duty unless they appoint someone. For a single-contractor re-roof, the roofer is often the principal contractor, and the owner can appoint an agent, such as the roofer or an architect, to prepare and submit the application. The CDM Regulations 2015 treat domestic clients in a similar way: In HSE's terms an individual who has construction done on their home, not as part of a business, is a domestic client, and where only one contractor is involved the client duties pass to that contractor.

The agent route is common: the roofer, an architect or a surveyor prepares the submission, and you keep a copy of everything sent. Do not leave it to assumption. Before the job starts, ask in writing: who submits the application, who pays the fee, who meets the inspector, and who receives the completion certificate. We put the answer on the written price, so there is no argument on the last day.

Somerset Building Control is the council's own service for the whole county area, so a Taunton re-roof goes to it. Applications go in through the online portal or by email, or on paper to Bridgwater House, King Square, Bridgwater TA6 3AR, and the service asks that nothing is delivered to the old district council offices.

How do Full Plans and a Building Notice compare?

Full Plans means sending drawings and details to be checked, and the service says it will usually respond within 10 working days and normally decide within five weeks. A Building Notice lets you give notice of the start without full drawings, though the inspector may still ask for more detail as the work goes on.

Building control fees are changing. New charging regulations are due on 6 November 2026, with the fee schedule to appear at least seven days earlier. Because fees are changing, check the current schedule on the Somerset Building Control website before you choose a route.

Local authority building control is not the only route. Private registered building control approvers can also take on the work, and the registration regime has run since 6 April 2024. If you use a private approver for a re-roof, the same questions apply: who applies, who attends and who holds the final certificate.

What if the work is already finished?

Ask Somerset Building Control about a regularisation application, open to work that dates from after 11 November 1985. That matters when you buy a house with a re-roof but no paperwork. Our answer on the re-roof completion certificate explains what the finished document is and why a conveyancer can request it during a sale.

If you want to see where building control fits in the order of events, our guide to the re-roofing process shows it. After the survey, we tell you whether we think your roof needs an application and who will submit it. Our roof replacement page sets out the job from survey to sweep-up.