Alternative Means of Compliance Guidance Notes

What is a Request for Consideration of Alternative Means of Compliance?

This relates to circumstances where an applicant has chosen not to follow the Technical Handbook guidance clauses and wishes to propose an alternative way of meeting the Building Regulations.

It is applicable on any building warrant application or late completion certificate submission.

Who considers the alternative proposals?

To aid consistency all submissions are dealt with by a Building Standards Surveyor (BSS) of the Technical Support Team of Building Standards and Public Safety.

Do I need to have made a building warrant or late completion certificate submission?

For most circumstances, yes. However, it is recognised that on some major projects there are critical matters such as alternative fire strategies where it is appropriate to seek agreement on proposals in advance of an application. If it is thought that this may be necessary for your project, then a discussion can be arranged with Technical Support.

A request in advance of an application's submission will not be processed without prior agreement.

How is the request for alternative means of compliance submitted and processed?

The request can be submitted either along with or during the processing of your warrant application or late completion certificate submission.

Where your request is submitted during the processing of your application it should be sent to the BCS dealing with the application. Please send this under separate cover from the response to any other matters on the application.

The request will be referred to the Technical Support Team by the BSS once they initially check that the matters requested for consideration are relevant to the application/design. It is therefore recommended that prior to submitting the request you discuss the matters with the BSS to establish the need for making this submission - there are some matters that may not require a request for alternative compliance.

Once submitted to the Technical Support Team contact will be made with you to discuss the alternative proposals or request additional information if appropriate. All other matters on your application will continue to be dealt with by the BSS dealing with the application.

Consultation with the Fire Service must take place if it is intended to accept an alternative solution that involves Section 2 Fire. Although discussions with the Service may already have taken place before a decision is reached a formal letter will be sent to the Fire Service outlining the intended conditions of acceptance. They have up to 21 days to respond to this before the final decision can be confirmed. You will be sent a copy of this Fire Service correspondance to allow you to see the proposed conditions of acceptance.

Once the decision is finalised you and the BSS dealing with your application are given formal notification of the terms under which the alternative proposals can be accepted or alternatively a notification of rejection of the proposals. Any relevant conditions or notes to meet the terms of an acceptance of alternative proposals must be added to the application drawings.

What should I submit with the request?

Firstly, identify the guidance clause(s) that you do not wish to follow and list them as requested.

For each clause a justification must be made to support your alternative proposals. This justification should fully identify the relevant points of your case and other evidence in support of your proposals - including matters such as other compensatory features. The information can be included here on the form or set out in an attached document or report.  (Note - it is not acceptable to submit a basic statement with no technical appraisal e.g. that 'it is an existing building' and nothing more.)

As your request is processed separately from your warrant or late completion certificate application a basic set of plans of the relevant layouts (incl existing plans where appropriate) needs to accompany the form.

An additional set may also be requested for forwarding to the Fire Service as part of any consultation with them.