Building standards

Introduction

Building regulations set out technical requirements applicable to building work to protect the public interest.

We publish technical handbooks which explain how to achieve the requirements set out in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The regulations, standards and supporting guidance in our technical handbooks apply based upon the date on which a building warrant application is submitted or when work not requiring a building warrant is commenced.

Also see the following collections:

New publication: technical handbooks for use from 1 January 2025

Building regulations are revised to amend the scope of standard 6.11 which prohibited the use of heating and cooling systems, located within the curtilage of any new building, which produce more than a negligible level of greenhouse gas emissions. Heating systems using bioenergy or peat and secondary heating are now excluded from the scope of the standard. There are minor consequential amendments to guidance to standards 6.1 and 7.1. This follows extensive engagement over the summer in response to concerns raised over the initial implementation of the standard. The related Direction issued on 19 September 2024 will be withdrawn on 1 January 2025. Read more information on the amended New Build Heat Standard.

Building regulations are also revised to extend the scope 0f standard 4.14 as applied to new homes. The standard now requires provision for ‘Gigabit-ready physical infrastructure’, including on-site physical infrastructure within the development site and confirmation that that the best available connection will be supported.

Designers seeking to comply with the standards or to submit a building warrant on or after 1 January 2025 should refer to:

New publication: technical handbooks for use from 1 April 2024

Building regulations are revised to prohibit the use of heating and cooling systems, located within the curtilage of any new building, which produce more than a negligible level of greenhouse gas emissions. This follows staged consultation on proposals to end the use of fossil and biofuel in new buildings in 2021 and 2022.

Read more information on the introduction of this ‘New Build Heat Standard’ as part of our broader Heat in Buildings strategy.

To implement this change, the 2024 technical handbooks introduce standard 6.11 (Heating and hot water – direct emission heating system), associated amendments to standard 6.1 and guidance to standards 6.1, 6.8 and 7.1. The handbooks are otherwise unchanged from the June 2023 (December addendum) version.

Designers seeking to comply with the standards or to submit a building warrant on or after 1 April 2024 should refer to:

Technical handbooks for use between 5 June 2023 and 31 March 2024

Following review of standards and guidance in 2021, building regulations are revised to introduce a requirement for electric vehicle charging in new buildings and those subject to ‘major renovation’.

These handbooks includes minor amendments to Section 0 (general) and introduction of new standard 7.2 (Electric vehicle charging) within Section 7 (sustainability). The handbooks are otherwise unchanged from the February 2023 version.

December 2023 – minor addendum update to the published June 2023 Handbooks. A list of addendum changes, which do not materially affect current routes to compliance, can be found on our 2022/23 resource page.

Designers seeking to comply with the standards or to submit a building warrant between 5 June 2023 and 31 March 2024 should refer to:

Technical handbooks for use from 1 February 2023 to 4 June 2023

The earlier December 2022 technical handbooks are now republished and reformatted as the February 2023 technical handbooks, reflecting their amended in-force date. Minor changes are made to text are listed in the introduction to each volume.

Designers seeking to comply with the standards or to submit a building warrant between 1 February 2023 and 4 June 2023 should refer to:

Technical handbooks for use from 1 June 2022 to 31 January 2023

Designers seeking to comply with the standards or to submit a building warrant between 1 June 2022 and 31 January 2023 should refer to:

Technical handbooks for use from 1 March 2021 to 31 May 2022

Designers seeking to comply with the standards or to submit a building warrant between 1 March 2021 and 31 May 2022 should refer to:

Technical handbooks for 2017 and 2019

Previous technical handbooks

Links to previous editions of the technical handbooks are below. Under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, the technical handbooks issued in support of the building regulations were applied from the following dates.

2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 – 1 May in each year
2006 – 1 April 2016
2010, 2013, 2015 and 2019 – 1 October in each year
2016 and 2017 – 1 July in each year

Key documents (referred to within the technical handbooks), can be found via the ‘key supporting technical guidance’ link in the left hand menu.

Domestic handbooks

Non-domestic handbooks

Key supporting technical guidance

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.

National Calculation Methodology modelling guide

Guidance on compliance with building regulations, namely the application of the calculation methodology used for non-domestic buildings.

Non-domestic buildings: national calculation methodology modelling guide 2022

Procedural handbook

Provides clarification on the procedures underpinning the Scottish building standards system.

Building services compliance guides

Detailed guidance for the installation of fixed building services in new and existing domestic and non-domestic buildings in support of compliance with the energy efficiency requirements.

The non-domestic building services compliance guide for Scotland 2018 is in our website archive.

Older technical standards <2005

6th Amendment of Technical Standards (2002)

5th Amendment of Technical Standards (2000)

Technical Standards For Compliance With The Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (incorporating: amendment no.1 - July 1993, amendment no.2 - June 1994)

Technical Standards For Compliance With The Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 - 3rd

Technical Standards For Compliance With The Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990

SI - 1981 No 1596 (S.169) - Building & Buildings - The Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1981

General guidance

Procedures for building standards

The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 set out the processes for submitting and dealing with building warrant applications. We also published a revised version of the building standards procedural handbook, which explains how the processes work and apply.

Our Customer Journey explains the building standards system to anyone making home improvements or starting building work.

When submitting a building warrant application there is helpful guidance on what you need to know to make a good quality application.

Enforcement

Provides clarification on the enforcement powers for local authorities as set out in the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.

Building standards enforcement handbook: first edition

Research projects: 2018 to 2024

Research undertaken to support building regulations and guidance. You can find previous research reports in our website archive.

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.

Advice notes: external wall systems

Verification and certification

We have a separate collection of guidance on verification and certification for local authorities.

Energy assessment software guidance

Building standards approved energy assessment software: guidance