Building standards

Domestic handbooks

• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2016
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2015
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2013
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2011
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2010
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2009
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2008
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2007
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2006
• Building standards technical handbook: domestic 2005

Non-domestic handbooks

• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2016
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2015
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2013
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2011
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2010
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2009
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2008
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2007
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2006
• Building standards technical handbook: non-domestic 2005

Conservatories Guide 2nd edition, Revised and updated in line with 2015 handbooks, 2015

Conversion of traditional buildings: part one and two, published by Historic Scotland

Modern methods of construction: guidance for building standards verification, Provides guidance to Local Authority verifiers and Certifiers as defined under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 when assessing building warrant applications and certifying works which use Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), 2022

Procedural guidance for Crown buildings, Revised and updated including guidance on cells and reference to appropriate fire authorities, 2010

Procedural Handbook 3rd Edition, Inclusion of changes implemented by the Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (new Type 23A to schedule 3, changes fees and discounts, timing of certificate of design for discount, recognise digital procedures and forms). Also other general updates (e.g. Section 6, Energy and SEPA), 2017

Small Buildings Structural Guidance, Removed from Technical Handbooks, available in our website archive, 2010

A Simplified Approach to Alternative Fire Safety Strategies, New guidance in support of Section 2: Fire, 2010

A Fire Safety Design Summary, new guidance and example forms, 2013

Fire Safety Management in Traditional Buildings, guide published by Historic Scotland.

Whisky Maturation Warehouses - Storage Buildings (Class 1) – Automatic Fire Suppression Systems, Provides supplementary information for the installation of automatic fire suppression systems in whisky maturation warehouses to that already provided in the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbooks, 2015

Ventilation Domestic Guide, Guidance in support of standard 3.14 ventilation, 2017

Protective Barriers in Existing Non-Domestic Buildings, A building regulation guide to openings in protective barriers such as railings or balustrades, 2011

Airtightness and Sound Testing, Methodology for testing in support of Section 5 - Noise and Section 6 - Energy, 2011

Example Constructions and Generic Internal Constructions, updated 2011

Housing and sound insulation: guide to improving existing attached dwellings and designing for conversions, guide to provide methods and descriptions of how to improve sound insulation between attached dwellings, to assist in deciding on what levels of sound insulation may be required and to inform on key separating wall and floor types and influences of remedial treatments.

Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide for Scotland 2022, Guidance in support of compliance with Standards 6.3 to 6.7 for dwellings and other domestic buildings. Applicable from 1 December 2022, the Guide should be referred to in conjunction with the Domestic Technical Handbook, 2022.

Non-domestic Building Services Compliance Guide for Scotland 2022, Guidance in support of compliance with Standards 6.3 to 6.6 & 6.10 for non-domestic buildings. Applicable from 1 December 2022, this the Guide should be referred to in conjunction with the Non-domestic Technical Handbook, 2022.

2022 NCM Modelling Guide for Non-domestic Buildings in Scotland, Guidance on the application of the National Calculation Methodology used to demonstrate compliance on new non-domestic buildings with Standard 6.1. Applicable to building warrants submitted from 1 December 2022, 2022

Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide for Scotland 2015, Guidance in support of compliance with Standards 6.3 to 6.7 for dwellings and other domestic buildings. Applicable from 1 October 2015, this separate document contains guidance on building services previously published within the Technical Handbooks. The Guide should be referred to in conjunction with remaining guidance within the Domestic Technical Handbook, 2015.

These guides outline the main features of each technology and identify issues that need to be considered in the design and installation of low carbon equipment, for compliance with the building regulations, including good practice to optimise the energy efficiency of installations. More detailed guidance on the Scottish building regulations, including the functional standards, is given in the Technical Handbooks.

• Safe and sustainable installation of low carbon equipment
• Introduction to the guides (2010, Updated 2012)
• Air source heat pumps (ASHP) (2010)
• Ground source heat pumps and water source heat pumps (GSHP and WSHP) (2010)
• Solar thermal systems or solar hot water (SHW) (2010)
• Biomass Installations (2012)
• Photovoltaics (2012)

Sustainability label generator, Web tool for generating Statements of Sustainability under Section 7.

• Building Regulations – Compliance and Enforcement: Consultation Analysis, This project undertook an analysis of the responses received from the consultation and provided a report which identifies the main issues raised by respondents.
• Fire Safety External wall systems: Consultation Analysis, This project undertook an analysis of the responses received from the consultation and provided a report which identifies the main issues raised by respondents.
• National Customer Satisfaction Survey 2020-21 to support the verification performance  framework, An annual Survey on the Performance of Scottish local authorities, complete
• Verifiers management and training and development recording: review, This project explored how the recording of training needs identified through the Competency Assessment System (CAS) is managed by verifiers and how these systems and processes can inform the development of a learning and development hub for the building standards profession. complete
• Improvements to Energy Standards for New Buildings within Scottish Building Regulations 2021: Domestic Buildings, This project assesses and identifies the potential for further improvement in energy and emissions performance for new domestic buildings set via standard 6.1 (carbon dioxide emissions) and supporting guidance within The Scottish Government’s Building Standards Technical Handbooks, complete
• Improvements to Energy Standards for New Buildings within Scottish Building Regulations 2021: Non-domestic Buildings, This project assesses and identifies the potential for further improvement in energy and emissions performance for new non-domestic buildings set via standard 6.1 (carbon dioxide emissions) and supporting guidance within The Scottish Government’s Building Standards Technical Handbooks.
• Improvements to Energy Standards for New Buildings within Scottish Building Regulations 2021: Overheating in New Homes, Building on work undertaken elsewhere in the UK, this project assesses the likelihood of overheating risk in new homes in Scotland under improved standards of building fabric and in the context of projected temperature increases. It will inform the proposed introduction of an overheating standard into Scottish building regulations.
• Future model to evaluate the quality of the verification service customer experience, This project identified and proposed a preferred national customer survey model. The project reviewed the existing question set used to evaluate the quality of the verification service customer experience across all 32 local authority verifiers and made suggested changes.
• Scottish Advice Note: Determining the Fire Risk posed by External Wall Systems in Existing Multi-Storey Residential Buildings – Consultation Analysis, This project will undertake an analysis of the responses received from the consultation and provide a report which identifies the main issues raised by respondents.
• Exploring the potential for a Certification Scheme for Fire Stopping, This work identified if there was a demand for a certification scheme for fire-stopping within the current Scottish building warrant process.
• Causes of fire fatalities and serious fire injuries in Scotland and potential solutions to reduce them Phase 1:  IRS Review (collaborative working), This work undertook a  comprehensive investigation into the underlying conditions associated with fire deaths and serious fire injuries in domestic dwellings in Scotland for the period from April 2013 to March 2017.
• Analysis to create baseline information for a ‘Simple guide to energy compliance’, This project will undertake a literature review to provide and provide  report which will act as a baseline level of information to be used to produce a ‘Simple guide to energy compliance’.
• Suitability and relevance of current legislation and guidance on the Building Standards Register. This work reviewed what information is held by local authorities on Parts 1 and 2 of the Building Standard Register.
• Developing a Workforce Strategy for the Building Standards Verification Service in Scotland, This project will  develop a building standards verification workforce strategy.
• Assessment of options for improving energy efficiency and decarbonising heat in existing non-domestic buildings in Scotland, This project will inform the development of future standards to improve the energy performance of non-domestic buildings.
• Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) – Development of Smart Audit Rules, Project to improve the quality of the Scottish EPC data produced and retained on the Register.
• Investigating prevalence of CO2 from disused mineral mines and implications for residential buildings, In 2017 the NHS Lothian Incident Management Team investigated reported cases of ill health affecting residents of a recently built local authority housing estate. This research is looking for similar incidents and considers implications for building standards.
• Personal Development Framework, Development of a Personal Development Framework for the Building Standards profession.
• Building Standards Year of Young People: Attracting young people into a career in Building Standards, Project looking at why young people are not choosing a career in building standards.  Develop a strategy to  encourage young people into building standards.
• Analysis of the Building Standards Compliance and Fire Safety Consultation - Making Scotland’s buildings safer for people, Analysis of evidence received in response to the Building Standards Compliance and Fire Safety Consultation.
• Explore the feasibility of a Centralised Hub for verification of complex fire engineered solutions in Scotland, Project providing an independent opinion on the need, appropriateness, potential structure and operations of a central hub for assessing the verification of complex fire engineered designs in Scotland
• Inventory of the design of high rise housing accommodation in Scotland, Project to compile an inventory of existing high rise housing accommodation across both public and private sectors in Scotland (November 2021)
• Ability of decentralised mechanical ventilation to act as ‘whole-house’ ventilation systems in new-build dwellings, This research established if new build dwellings fitted with dMEVs in moisture producing rooms, coupled with a reduced area of trickle ventilation in apartments of 2,500 mm2, can maintain satisfactory IAQ throughout the habitable rooms of dwellings.

• The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (Charging Orders) Regulations 2014
• The Buildings (Recovery of Expenses) (Scotland) Act 2014
• The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2009
• The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (Exemptions for Defence and National Security) Order 2009

• The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2004
• The Building (Scotland) Act 2003

• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment (Amendment) Regulations 2022
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2020
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2013
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2016
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2014
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/209)
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006
• The Building Standards Advisory Committee (Scotland) Regulations 2004
• The Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004

• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2013
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011
• The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009
• The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007
• The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004

• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
• The Building (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008
• The Building (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007
• The Building (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2004

• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
• The Building (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2013
• The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011
• The Building (Forms) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007
• The Building (Forms) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006
• The Building (Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2005

• The Building (Energy Performance of Buildings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2016
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment (No 386) Regulations 2015
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2012
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/190)
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/208)
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008