Guide
Removing a wall: load-bearing walls, Building Regulations and party walls
Removing a non-load-bearing wall usually needs no building control approval, as long as it does not affect fire escape, ventilation, drainage or electrics. Removing or altering a load-bearing wall is structural work: it needs a structural engineer's design, Building Regulations approval and, if a party wall is involved, notice to your neighbours.
Updated 3 min readBy the Solubius team
Opening up two rooms can be a short internal job or a small construction project. What decides it is almost always whether the wall holds anything up.
Load-bearing or not
The Planning Portal describes a load-bearing wall as one that "supports other elements of the building", such as the roof, walls above or floor joists. You cannot tell for certain by looking at it or knocking on it. A structural engineer or surveyor can confirm it.
If the wall is not load-bearing
The Planning Portal says that removing a non-load-bearing wall "will likely not require building control approval", as long as the change does not affect:
- fire escape routes, for example by opening a staircase into a living room,
- ventilation,
- drainage,
- electrics in the wall.
This is internal work we do: taking the wall down, making good the floor, walls and ceiling, moving sockets and switches with a qualified electrician, and decorating so the two rooms look like a single space.
If the wall is load-bearing
This is structural work, and it follows a different route:
- A structural engineer designs the support. Usually this is a steel or timber beam, sized for the load it carries. The Planning Portal notes that beams normally need at least 150mm of bearing at each end and that steel beams normally need 30 minutes' fire protection.
- Building Regulations approval. Building control checks the design and inspects the work.
- Party wall notice, if it applies (see below).
- Specialist installation of the beam and any temporary supports.
We do not take on structural work. When a plan needs it, we say so at the first visit, suggest who to speak to, and plan our own work (plastering, joinery, flooring and decoration) to follow once the structural side is designed, approved and done.
Party walls
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies to work on or near a wall you share with a neighbour, not only in terraces and semis. Under the Act, you must serve notice before:
- work to an existing party wall, such as cutting into it to take a beam: at least 2 months' notice,
- building a new wall on the boundary line: at least 1 month's notice,
- excavating within 3m of a neighbour's building (or 6m in some cases): at least 1 month's notice.
Cutting into a shared wall to take a new beam counts as work to a party wall, so allow for the notice period in the programme.
Loft conversions and extensions
Both are structural. The Planning Portal says a loft conversion needs Building Regulations approval, covering the new floor, the stability of the roof, fire escape, stairs and sound insulation, and it points owners to the Party Wall Act too. Extensions and loft conversions are outside what we do, but we can fit out the new rooms once the structural work is finished.
Sources
- Planning Portal: load-bearing walls and Building Regulations
- Planning Portal: removing an internal wall
- Planning Portal: loft conversions and Building Regulations
- legislation.gov.uk: Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 1
- legislation.gov.uk: Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 3
- legislation.gov.uk: Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 6
Common questions
You cannot be sure by looking or knocking. A load-bearing wall supports something above it, such as floor joists, a roof or another wall, and a lightweight-looking wall can still carry a load. A structural engineer or surveyor can confirm it on site. Until then, treat the wall as load-bearing and do not start removing it.
Usually not. The Planning Portal says removing a non-load-bearing wall will likely not need building control approval, provided it does not affect fire escape routes, ventilation, drainage or electrics. Opening a staircase into a living room, for example, can change how people escape in a fire, so check with building control first.
It depends on the work. Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, work to an existing party wall needs at least two months' notice. Building a new wall on the boundary line, or excavating close to a neighbour's building, needs at least one month's notice. Build the notice period into the programme before any dates are fixed.
Planning home improvements work?
Send the address, a few photographs and what needs to change. We will tell you what applies to your property.