UK Construction Legislation: Key Acts for QSs
UK construction legislation sets the legal framework for every project: how contracts are paid, how buildings are made safe, how sites are run, what planning and environmental rules apply and how public work is bought. For a quantity surveyor, each law has a practical effect. It changes what must be priced, how long things take, who carries the risk and how long a claim can be brought.
This guide is a reference to the key Acts and regulations, grouped by theme. For each one it explains what the law requires and what it means for QS practice. It shows where the law differs across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, works through the laws that drive the cost plan on a conversion project and answers common questions. It is general information, not legal advice.
Last reviewed: November 2026. This guide covers England unless stated. Always check the current legislation on legislation.gov.uk.
How This Guide Fits with Other ProQS Guides
This page is the overview of the legislation. Several topics have their own detailed guides, so this page keeps to the essentials and points you on.
- Payment, notices and adjudication under the Construction Act, NEC4 and JCT: Construction Law for the Quantity Surveyor
- Who enforces the law: UK Construction Regulatory Bodies
- Government policy, playbooks and reviews: UK Construction Papers and Playbooks
- Health and safety in design and construction: CDM Regulations and the Quantity Surveyor
- Building regulations in practice: Building Regulations and the Quantity Surveyor
Key UK Construction Legislation by Theme
Select a theme to see the laws in it.
1. Contracts and Payment
Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the Construction Act)
Part II of the Act applies to most construction contracts. As amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, it gives every party:
- a right to interim payments, on contracts lasting 45 days or more
- an adequate mechanism for due dates and final dates for payment, with payment notices and pay less notices
- a ban on pay-when-paid clauses, except on insolvency higher up the chain, and on pay-when-certified clauses
- a right to suspend work for non-payment, with time and costs
- a right to refer a dispute to adjudication at any time
If a contract does not comply, the Scheme for Construction Contracts fills the gaps. The Act does not apply to contracts with residential occupiers for work on their own home, or to some excluded operations, such as certain process plant work.
Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998
Where a contract has no substantial remedy for late payment, the Act implies statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt.
Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
The Act allows a person who is not a party to a contract to enforce a term that is intended to benefit them. Most construction contracts exclude it by default. Where it is used, it gives rights to funders, purchasers and tenants as an alternative to separate collateral warranties, for example through the JCT third party rights schedules.
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020
The Act restricts a supplier from terminating a contract for the supply of goods or services just because the customer enters an insolvency procedure. Construction contracts can be affected, so a subcontractor may not be able to stop work and terminate simply because the main contractor has gone into administration.
2. Building Safety and Building Regulations
Building Act 1984 and the Building Regulations 2010
The Building Act provides the framework for building control in England and Wales. The Building Regulations 2010, made under it, set the functional requirements for structure, fire safety, ventilation, access, energy and other matters. The Approved Documents, such as Part B (fire safety), Part L (conservation of fuel and power) and Part M (access to and use of buildings), give practical ways to comply.
Building Safety Act 2022
The most significant construction law in a generation, passed after the Grenfell Tower fire. Its key provisions are:
- a stricter regime for higher-risk buildings, at least 18 metres or seven storeys high with at least two residential units, with the Building Safety Regulator as building control authority and approval required at Gateway 2 (before work starts) and Gateway 3 (before occupation)
- duty holder and competence requirements for all building work, set out in amendments to the Building Regulations
- the golden thread of building information for higher-risk buildings
- regulation of the building control profession
- longer limitation periods under the Defective Premises Act (see theme 6)
- remediation orders, remediation contribution orders and building liability orders, which can make associated companies pay for safety defects
- the Building Safety Levy, which applies to new residential buildings in England from 1 October 2026
Construction Products Regulation
The Construction Products Regulations 2013 enforce the retained EU Construction Products Regulation in Great Britain. Products covered by a designated standard must have a declaration of performance and a UKCA or CE marking. CE marking continues to be recognised indefinitely. The government’s 2026 White Paper proposes wider reform, including a general safety requirement for products.
3. Health and Safety
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
The foundation of health and safety law in Great Britain. Employers must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees (section 2) and of others affected by their work (section 3), including the public. Breaches are criminal offences. Under the Sentencing Council guidelines, fines are linked to the size of the organisation and can be very large.
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM)
CDM sets duties for clients, principal designers, designers, principal contractors and contractors. Where more than one contractor will work on a project, the client must appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor in writing. Projects lasting more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers at any one time, or exceeding 500 person days, must be notified to HSE. Domestic clients’ duties normally pass to the contractor or principal contractor. Our CDM guide covers the QS’s role.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
These set the general duty to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments, and to have arrangements for planning, organising, controlling, monitoring and reviewing health and safety.
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
Duty holders must manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. Before refurbishment or demolition, a refurbishment and demolition survey is needed so that asbestos can be located and removed. Higher-risk work, including most work on asbestos insulation, coatings and insulating board, must be done by a contractor licensed by HSE. Some lower-risk work is non-licensed but still controlled.
Other Health and Safety Regulations
- Work at Height Regulations 2005: planning, supervision and equipment for work at height, a leading cause of fatal injuries in construction.
- LOLER 1998 and PUWER 1998: the safety, maintenance and inspection of lifting equipment and other work equipment.
- COSHH 2002: control of substances hazardous to health, including silica dust and other construction dusts.
- Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
An organisation can be convicted where the way its activities are managed or organised by senior management causes a death and amounts to a gross breach of a duty of care. Fines are unlimited.
Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Most employers must hold employers’ liability insurance of at least £5 million. See our guide to insurance in construction projects.
4. Fire Safety
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The Fire Safety Order applies to non-domestic premises and the common parts of residential buildings. The “responsible person” must carry out a fire risk assessment and put suitable fire precautions in place. Fire and rescue authorities enforce it.
Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
The Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that the Order covers the structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 added duties for responsible persons in those buildings, such as information for residents and, in high-rise buildings, information for fire and rescue services.
5. Planning, Neighbours and the Environment
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
The main planning statute in England and Wales. Development needs planning permission, either by application or through permitted development rights. Section 106 agreements secure planning obligations such as affordable housing and infrastructure contributions.
Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010
Local authorities that have adopted a charging schedule can charge the Community Infrastructure Levy on new floorspace. Liability is triggered when development commences, with payment due under the authority’s instalment policy, so it affects cash flow as well as cost.
Planning Act 2008
Nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as major energy, transport and water schemes, need a development consent order rather than planning permission.
Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025
The Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. It aims to speed up planning and infrastructure decisions, including limits on repeated legal challenges to major infrastructure decisions, changes to planning committees and a Nature Restoration Fund allowing developers to pay into strategic environmental measures. Many provisions need secondary legislation before they take effect.
Environment Act 2021
Introduced mandatory biodiversity net gain. Most new development in England must deliver at least a 10% gain in biodiversity, on site, off site or, as a last resort, through statutory credits.
Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Control of Pollution Act 1974
The Environmental Protection Act sets the duty of care for waste and the regime for contaminated land. The Control of Pollution Act allows local authorities to control construction noise. Contractors can apply for prior consent for their working methods and hours under section 61.
Party Wall etc. Act 1996
Applies in England and Wales to work on party walls, new walls on the boundary and excavations near neighbouring buildings. The building owner must serve notice, usually two months before work to a party structure and one month before excavation or building on the boundary. If the neighbour does not consent, surveyors make a party wall award setting out how the work will be done. The building owner normally pays the surveyors’ fees.
6. Liability, Limitation and Disputes
Limitation Act 1980
Sets how long a claim can be brought. For breach of an ordinary contract, it is six years from the breach. For a contract executed as a deed, it is twelve years. Negligence claims usually run for six years from when the damage occurred. For hidden damage, the claimant has three years from when they could have known about it, subject to a 15-year longstop.
Defective Premises Act 1972
Anyone taking on work in connection with providing a dwelling owes a duty to make it fit for habitation. The Building Safety Act extended the limitation period for these claims from six years to 15 years for claims arising on or after 28 June 2022, and to 30 years, retrospectively, for claims arising before that date. A new section 2A applies a similar duty to work on existing dwellings, prospectively, with a 15-year limit.
Arbitration Act 1996 and Arbitration Act 2025
The 1996 Act governs arbitration in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The 2025 Act, in force from 1 August 2025, updated it, including rules on the law governing arbitration agreements, a statutory duty of disclosure for arbitrators and a power to decide issues summarily.
7. Procurement, Tax and Corporate Compliance
Procurement Act 2023
In force since 24 February 2025, the Act governs public procurement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It introduced the competitive flexible procedure, award to the most advantageous tender, greater transparency, a central debarment list and 30-day payment terms that flow down the supply chain. See UK Construction Papers and Playbooks.
Finance Act 2004 (the Construction Industry Scheme) and VAT legislation
The Construction Industry Scheme requires contractors to deduct tax from payments to subcontractors for labour, at 20% for registered subcontractors and 30% for unregistered ones, unless the subcontractor has gross payment status. Since 1 March 2021, the VAT domestic reverse charge applies to most construction services between VAT-registered businesses in the supply chain.
Bribery Act 2010
Creates offences of bribing, being bribed and bribing a foreign official, and makes a business liable if it fails to prevent bribery by people acting for it, unless it had adequate procedures in place.
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
Introduced a “failure to prevent fraud” offence, in force from 1 September 2025. Large organisations can be liable if an employee or agent commits fraud intended to benefit them, unless they had reasonable fraud prevention procedures. Inflated claims and misleading valuations are obvious risk areas in construction.
Modern Slavery Act 2015
Businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more must publish an annual statement on the steps they take to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains. Construction’s reliance on labour supply chains makes this a live issue.
Equality Act 2010
Protects people from discrimination and requires employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. It does not set technical accessibility standards for buildings. Physical access is covered by Part M of the Building Regulations.
8. Land and Compulsory Purchase
On infrastructure and regeneration schemes, land acquisition can be a major cost. Compensation for land taken by compulsory purchase is governed mainly by the Land Compensation Act 1961 and the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965. The Land Compensation Act 1973 allows claims for the loss in value of nearby property caused by the use of new public works, such as noise or vibration from a new road. Recent reforms, including the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 and the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, have changed some compensation rules for schemes in the public interest.
Where the Law Applies
Much construction legislation differs across the UK. The table summarises the main points.
| Topic | England and Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment and adjudication | Construction Act 1996, Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) | Construction Act 1996, Scottish Scheme | Construction Contracts (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 |
| Building control | Building Act 1984 and Building Regulations 2010 (separate regulations in Wales) | Building (Scotland) Act 2003 | Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 |
| Health and safety | HSWA 1974, CDM 2015 | HSWA 1974, CDM 2015 | Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978, CDM (NI) 2016 |
| Planning | Town and Country Planning Act 1990 | Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 | Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 |
| Party walls | Party Wall etc. Act 1996 | Title conditions, common law and, for tenements, the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 | No equivalent statute |
| Public procurement | Procurement Act 2023 | Scottish procurement regime | Procurement Act 2023 |
Worked Example: Which Laws Drive the Cost Plan?
A developer is converting a six-storey 1970s office block in an English city into 40 flats. At about 17 metres, it falls just below the higher-risk building threshold. It shares a wall with a neighbouring building. Here is how the legislation feeds into the QS’s cost plan and programme.
| Law | What it requires here | What the QS allows for |
|---|---|---|
| Town and Country Planning Act 1990, CIL Regulations | Planning permission for the change of use and new façade; section 106 agreement | Section 106 contributions, CIL on any new floorspace, consultant fees |
| Building Regulations 2010 | A material change of use to dwellings, so regulation 6 applies: the fire safety requirements of Part B, sound insulation (Part E), ventilation (F1) and energy (L1), among others. Part M does not apply to this type of change of use, although planning conditions may still require accessible flats | Fire compartmentation and sprinklers where required, acoustic separation, ventilation, energy upgrades, any accessibility standards set by planning |
| Building Safety Act 2022 | Duty holder and competence requirements; not higher-risk, so no BSR gateways, but the height should be confirmed by measurement | Principal designer and principal contractor competence, compliance records |
| Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 | Refurbishment and demolition survey; licensed removal of any asbestos found | Survey costs, removal costs, programme time, a provisional sum or risk allowance |
| CDM 2015 | Notifiable project; principal designer and principal contractor appointed | Health and safety costs in the preliminaries, design risk management |
| Party Wall etc. Act 1996 | Notices to the neighbour; a party wall award if no consent | Surveyors’ fees, condition surveys, time for the notice period |
| Control of Pollution Act 1974 | Possible section 61 consent for noisy strip-out work | Restricted hours, quieter methods, longer programme |
| Environmental Protection Act 1990 | Waste duty of care for strip-out waste | Waste disposal and landfill tax |
| Defective Premises Act 1972 | Duty to make the flats fit for habitation, with a 15-year limitation period | Quality assurance, records, latent defects insurance and warranty requirements |
| Construction Act 1996 | Statutory payment and adjudication rights in the contract and subcontracts | Compliant payment terms and an administrative process to issue notices on time |
| Fire Safety Order 2005 and Fire Safety Act 2021 | Fire risk assessment and fire safety duties once occupied | Handover information, ongoing costs in the life cycle cost model |
Almost every row adds cost or time. The lesson is that legislation is not a single line in the cost plan. It runs through the design, the preliminaries, the programme, the risk register and the client’s long-term liabilities. The risk management guide shows how to capture items such as asbestos and party wall delays in the risk register.
Quick Reference
| Legislation | Main relevance for QSs |
|---|---|
| Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 | Payment, notices, suspension, adjudication |
| Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 | Interest on late payment |
| Building Safety Act 2022 | Higher-risk buildings, duty holders, limitation, levy |
| Building Regulations 2010 | Technical requirements that drive specification |
| CDM Regulations 2015 | Health and safety duties, notification |
| Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 | Surveys and licensed removal |
| Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | Fire safety in occupied buildings |
| Party Wall etc. Act 1996 | Notices, awards, surveyors’ fees |
| Environment Act 2021 | Biodiversity net gain |
| Defective Premises Act 1972 | Liability for dwellings, extended limitation |
| Limitation Act 1980 | Time limits for claims |
| Procurement Act 2023 | Public procurement and 30-day payment |
| Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 | Failure to prevent fraud |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Construction Act apply to work on a private house?
Not if the contract is with a residential occupier for work on the home they live in or intend to live in. The Act still applies to contracts further down the chain, for example between the main contractor and its subcontractors on the same job, and to developers building houses for sale.
How long can a client bring a claim for defective work?
It depends on the claim. For breach of contract, it is six years from the breach, or twelve if the contract was executed as a deed. For dwellings, the Defective Premises Act now allows 15 years for claims arising on or after 28 June 2022, and 30 years for earlier claims. Negligence claims can run longer where damage is hidden, subject to a 15-year longstop.
When does a project need to be notified to HSE?
Under CDM 2015, a project must be notified if construction work will last more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers on site at the same time, or will exceed 500 person days. The client is responsible for notifying, using form F10.
Is a building over 18 metres always a higher-risk building?
No. For design and construction, a higher-risk building is at least 18 metres or seven storeys high and contains at least two residential units, or is a hospital or care home meeting the height test. A tall office building without residential units is not higher-risk. Height must be measured in line with the regulations, so borderline buildings should be checked carefully.
Does the Party Wall Act apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. It applies only in England and Wales. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, rights over shared walls depend mainly on the title deeds and the general law, so specialist advice is needed.
Does the Procurement Act apply to private sector projects?
No. It applies to contracting authorities, such as government departments, local authorities and NHS bodies, and some utilities. Private clients are not covered, although a private project that receives public funding may have to follow some procurement rules as a condition of the funding.
Why should a QS care about the failure to prevent fraud offence?
Because valuations, claims and final accounts are where fraud risk sits in construction. Since 1 September 2025, a large organisation can be liable if someone acting for it commits fraud for its benefit, unless it had reasonable procedures to prevent it. Honest, well-evidenced valuations and claims protect both the QS and their employer.
Conclusion
UK construction legislation shapes almost every aspect of a project, from the payment terms in the contract to the fire safety of the finished building and the time limit for a claim. A QS does not need to be a lawyer, but does need to know which laws apply, what they require and what they cost in money and time. That knowledge produces realistic budgets, compliant contracts and fewer disputes.
For the legal detail on payment and adjudication, see Construction Law for the Quantity Surveyor. For contracts, see our guide to NEC, JCT and FIDIC.
Do you have experience working under any of these legislative frameworks? Share your insights or ask questions in the comments below!