Looking to buy a Dental Practice? Get to grips with building regulations

As part of the government’s drive to go zero carbon for new builds by 2019, changes are to be made to current building regulations and this could affect Dental practices.
The changes are being made to part L2B of the Building Regulations, which currently state, 'the construction of an extension triggers the requirement for consequential improvements in buildings with a total useful floor area greater than 1000m²'.
The consequential improvements referred to are energy efficient measures that would need to be put in place should work on an extension go ahead. This can be anything from changing the light bulbs to installing double glazed windows.
This hasn’t really had much of an impact on the dental industry previously, as there aren’t many practices that are bigger than 1000m².
However, the revisions to part L2B will make all building other than dwellings responsible for making consequential improvements should they expand.
In some cases this will add up to an extra 10% in additional building costs to the total price of the extension.
Older buildings are more likely to be affected by this legislation as putting these consequential improvements into effect could be expensive.
Of course, for dentists who operate from an older building and are not looking to expand there is no cause for alarm. But any dentist looking to buy should be wary of an older building and the potential extra costs of investing in one carries.
For dentists seeking to acquire a new practice or expand, making the next move will need careful consideration.