Anyone who has ever added an extension to their property, or built a new structure on their land, will have had to adhere to the building regulations. But the good news for anyone seeking to install a conservatory is those regulations will not apply under certain conditions.

Building regulations can be a pain, but even if they did apply in your case it would be silly to lose out on owning your conservatory just because you want to avoid the bother. Actually, the inconvenience is eased by many companies who sell conservatories because they will often handle the building control paperwork for you though recent changes in legislation mean that the laws regarding home extensions have been greatly relaxed.

To avoid being subject to the demands of building regulations, your conservatory must:

1. Be built at ground level and cover an area of no more than 30 square metres of floor space.

2. Have a minimum of half the new wall and three quarters of the roof glazed, or made out of translucent material.

3. All glazing and fixed electrical installations must be deemed to already comply with existing building regulations.

In order to avoid building regulations, the advice is not to have the conservatory installed where it will restrict ladder access to windows serving rooms in loft or roof extensions. But the regulations will apply if you have to build a new access route between your property and the structure.

The topic of building regulations and conservatories becomes more complicated when dealing with windows, doors and electrics. If the glazing is being replaced it must meet the regulation standards set in 2002 . Doors should also meet fire resistance requirements. As far as the electrical wiring is concerned, it must be installed by a competent electrician to comply with building control demands.

If you are considering buying a new conservatory, or are set to replace an old one and are unsure if building requirements apply, your vendor should be able to advise you.