Statutory guidance

Conservation of fuel and power: Approved Document L

Building regulation in England setting standards for the energy performance of new and existing buildings.

• From: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2018 to 2021)
• Published: 1 March 2014
• Last updated: 2 February 2023
  Show all updates

  1. 2 February 2023

     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.

  2. 15 June 2022

     Republished Approved Document L: Volume 1 and 2 to correct minor misprint. Updated details section to refer to the new documents coming into force.

  3. 25 February 2022

     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.

  4. 15 December 2021

     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

  5. 5 April 2018

     Publication of 2018 editions of Approved Document L1B and Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide incorporating 2018 amendments.

  6. 13 October 2017

     Added the 2018 amendments to the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide – 2013 edition document.

  7. 13 April 2016

     Publication of the four Approved Document Ls with 2016 amendments.

  8. 1 March 2014

     First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 1: Dwellings, 2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments

Ref: ISBN 978-1-914124-78-5

PDF, 1.44 MB, 104 pages

Approved Document L, Conservation of fuel and power, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings, 2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments

Ref: ISBN 978-1-914124-79-2

PDF, 1.35 MB, 116 pages

February 2023 amendments to Approved Document L, volume 1 and volume 2

PDF, 129 KB, 6 pages

Details

Since April 2023, the Building Safety Regulator has a duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to keep under review the safety and standards of all buildings in England, which includes advising government on updates to the Approved Documents.

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

Approved Document L (2026)

Approved Document L (2026) provides guidance on meeting the energy efficiency requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations for buildings subject to the 2026 standards. Earlier versions of Approved Document L continue to apply to buildings subject to previous regulatory standards.

• Approved Document L: Energy and greenhouse gas emissions - Vol 1: Dwellings (2026 edition)
• Approved Document L, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings (2026 edition)

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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