Conservation of fuel and power: Approved Document L
Building regulation in England setting standards for the energy performance of new and existing buildings.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This page holds the current guidance covering the energy efficiency requirements of the building regulations as set out in Part L of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations and in a number of specific building regulations.
Current technical guidance is contained in:
- Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 1: Dwellings
- Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings
Transitional arrangements
The Amendment Regulations and accompanying Approved Documents L: Volumes 1 and 2 come into force on 15 June 2022. However, the changes will not apply in relation to building work where a building notice or an initial notice has been given to, or full plans deposited with, a local authority before 15 June 2022 provided that the building work is started before 15 June 2023.
Please note that “building notice”, “initial notice” and “full plans” have the meanings given in Regulation 2 of the Building Regulations 2010.
In some cases, applications will be in respect of a number of buildings on a site, for example a number of houses. In such cases, it is only those individual buildings for which work is commenced which can take advantage of the transitional provisions.
Archived versions of previous editions are available on the National Archives.
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Updates to this page
Last updated 2 February 2023 + show all updates
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Added Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 1: Dwellings, 2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments. Added Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings, 2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments. Added February 2023 amendments to Approved Document L, volume 1 and volume 2.
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Republished Approved Document L: Volume 1 and 2 to correct minor misprint. Updated details section to refer to the new documents coming into force.
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Republished Approved Document L: Volumes 1 and 2 with corrections which can be found in Circular 01/2022 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-regulations-in-england-circular-012022 Minor misprints have been corrected.
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Added: Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 1: Dwellings; Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings
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Publication of 2018 editions of Approved Document L1B and Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide incorporating 2018 amendments.
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Added the 2018 amendments to the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide – 2013 edition document.
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Publication of the four Approved Document Ls with 2016 amendments.
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First published.