Before you start
This guide summarises the parts of the Building Regulations in England that most often shape a new-build kitchen. It is general guidance, not a substitute for the current Approved Documents, your building control body or your warranty provider's technical standards. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulations.
Kitchens are touched by several Approved Documents at once. Most problems arise not because a requirement is obscure, but because the kitchen layout is finalised after the services and structure are fixed. Bringing the kitchen designer in early avoids most of them.
Ventilation — Approved Document F
Kitchens need extract ventilation to remove moisture and cooking pollutants. Approved Document F (2021 edition) sets minimum extract rates for kitchens in new dwellings — for intermittent extraction, broadly 30 litres per second where the extract is a cooker hood over the hob, or 60 litres per second where the extract fan is elsewhere in the room. Continuous mechanical extract and MVHR systems have their own rates.
- Agree the ventilation strategy first — if the home has MVHR or continuous extract, the kitchen extractor may be recirculating, and the hood choice changes.
- Plan ducting routes — ducted hoods need a route to outside; that affects wall units, bulkheads and ceiling voids.
- Venting (downdraft) hobs — check ducted or recirculating configuration against the ventilation strategy and the performance data for the chosen model.
- Commissioning — extract systems in new dwellings need to be commissioned and the results provided to building control.
Electrical safety — Part P
Part P covers electrical installations in dwellings. New circuits — such as those for ovens and induction hobs — are notifiable work, carried out by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme or notified to building control.
- Coordinate appliance loads — induction hobs and ovens usually need dedicated circuits sized to the appliance.
- Isolation — plan accessible isolation for built-in appliances rather than hiding switches behind them.
- Socket positions — agree positions on worktop runs and islands before first fix, including any island supply routed through the floor.
- Integrated lighting — under-cabinet and plinth lighting drivers need to be accessible for maintenance.
Accessibility — Approved Document M
Approved Document M, Volume 1 sets three standards for new dwellings: M4(1) visitable dwellings, M4(2) accessible and adaptable dwellings and M4(3) wheelchair user dwellings. Which applies is usually set by planning conditions, and increasingly M4(2) is required.
- M4(2) includes a clear access zone in front of kitchen units and appliances (1,200 mm in the current guidance) — this directly affects island and galley layouts.
- M4(3) sets much more detailed kitchen requirements, including worktop length, knee space and adaptable heights, and should be designed specifically from the outset.
- Check the planning conditions for each plot — a scheme can mix standards across house types.
Energy — Approved Document L and low-carbon homes
Approved Document L sets minimum efficacy standards for fixed lighting in new dwellings, and integrated kitchen lighting can form part of that fixed lighting. Specify LED fittings and make sure they are included in the lighting design.
As new homes move away from gas under the Future Homes Standard, induction hobs are fast becoming the default for new-build kitchens. That's good news for extraction (no combustion products) and air-tightness, but it affects electrical loads and appliance choice — and buyers increasingly expect to see induction in the show home.
Fire safety and gas
Where a gas hob is still being fitted, installation must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the manufacturer's clearances to walls, wall units and extractors must be respected. Whatever the fuel, keep hobs away from openable windows where curtains or blinds could be a hazard, and follow the manufacturer's clearances for extractors above hobs.
In apartments and houses of multiple occupation, the fire strategy may also affect open-plan kitchen positions relative to escape routes — confirm with the fire engineer or building control before fixing the layout.
Warranty provider standards
New homes typically carry a structural warranty, and warranty providers publish their own technical standards covering finishes and fittings. These often cover practical details like the fixing of wall units, sealing around sinks and worktops, and tolerances for fitted furniture. Ask your warranty provider for the relevant chapter and share it with your kitchen supplier at the start.
A practical checklist
- Confirm the ventilation strategy and extract type before designing the kitchen.
- Fix the Part M standard for each house type before finalising layouts.
- Dimension all services from finished wall positions on the kitchen drawings.
- Agree who makes final electrical and plumbing connections to appliances.
- Include kitchen lighting in the Part L lighting design.
- Share your warranty provider's standards with the kitchen supplier.
We work alongside your design team and building control to get these right at design stage. See how on our new-build kitchens page.
