Short answer: yes, you almost always need building regulations approval to remove a load bearing wall, even though you rarely need planning permission. It is one of the most common jobs we carry out across Brighton and Hove, and also one of the most common things we see done badly by previous owners. Here is what approval actually involves, what it costs and why it matters when you come to sell.
A load bearing wall carries the weight of floors, walls or the roof above it. Take it out without proper support and you risk cracked plaster at best and progressive structural movement at worst. Because the work affects the structure of the building, it falls under Part A of the Building Regulations, which means it must be checked and signed off by a building control body.
This is separate from planning permission. Knocking through internally does not usually need planning consent, though if you live in a listed building you will need listed building consent on top, and Brighton has a fair number of those in areas like Kemptown and the Clifton conservation area. Flats can also need freeholder consent and a licence to alter, so check your lease before booking a builder.
Before any bricks come out, a structural engineer needs to calculate what will replace the wall, usually a steel beam sized for the loads above, with padstones to spread the weight at each end. In Brighton expect engineer's calculations to cost roughly 250 to 500 pounds for a straightforward single opening, more if the wall supports a chimney breast or sits under a bathroom.
You then notify building control, either Brighton and Hove City Council or a private approved inspector. For most single wall removals a building notice is the simpler route: you submit it with the fee, give 48 hours notice, and an inspector visits at key stages. Fees vary but budget around 300 to 500 pounds for a typical domestic job. The inspector will want to see the steel installed, the bearings and padstones, and any fire protection to the beam before things get boarded over.
On site, the sequence matters. The floor or wall above is supported temporarily on props and strongboys while the wall comes out, the steel goes in on padstones, and the props only come down once everything is bedded and checked. The beam then needs fire protection, normally two layers of plasterboard or a proprietary board, because bare steel loses strength quickly in a fire. This is a detail inspectors always check and one that gets missed on unapproved jobs.
Older Brighton housing stock adds its own quirks. Many Victorian terraces have walls that look non structural but are quietly picking up floor joists or a partition above, and bungaroosh walls, common in older parts of the city, can be unpredictable to cut into. It is worth paying for an engineer to confirm what is actually load bearing rather than relying on tapping the wall and guessing.
Without sign off you get no completion certificate, and that surfaces the moment you sell. Buyers' solicitors routinely ask for evidence of building regulations approval for structural alterations, and a missing certificate can stall a sale, knock money off the price or force you into buying indemnity insurance that does not actually fix anything structurally.
The council can also require you to open up or even reinstate unauthorised work. If you have already had a wall removed without approval, all is not lost: you can apply for regularisation, where building control inspects the work retrospectively, which usually means exposing the beam ends so an engineer and inspector can verify what was done. It costs more than doing it properly first time, but it is far cheaper than unpicking a sale.
Usually not for internal alterations. Planning permission and building regulations are separate systems, and removing an internal wall normally only triggers building regulations. The exceptions are listed buildings, which need listed building consent, and flats, where your lease may require the freeholder's permission.
For a typical single opening in a Brighton house, expect somewhere in the region of 1,500 to 4,000 pounds including the steel, labour and making good, plus engineer's calculations and building control fees on top. Wider openings, chimney breasts and walls supporting bathrooms or roofs push the price up, so treat any quote given without a site visit with caution.
Apply to building control for regularisation, which is retrospective approval. An inspector will want parts of the work exposed so a structural engineer can confirm the beam and bearings are adequate, and you will get a certificate if it passes. Sorting it before you market the property is far easier than doing it mid sale.
Tell us what you are planning and we will come and take a look. Free, no-pressure quotes across Brighton and Sussex.