Part 3: Building Act 1984 Building control authorities and building regulations Section 36: Lapse of building control approval etc Effect
This section inserts a new section 32 into the Building Act 1984 which provides for building control approvals to lapse automatically after three years in respect of any buildings in which work has not commenced. New section 32(5) ensures that certain things which the person carrying out the work had to do when they made their original application, for instance to pay a fee or supply certain information, are not undone.
	This section also inserts a new section 53A into the Act which makes provision for initial notices and plans certificates to lapse after three years. A new paragraph 4A is inserted into Schedule 4 to the Building Act 1984 to provide for a public body’s notice and public body’s plans certificate to lapse after three years.
	Consequential amendments are made to the Building Act 1984, in particular section 47(4) is amended so that it is subject to new section 53A. Consequently, the provisions of section 53 relating to an initial notice ceasing to have effect do not apply if an initial notice lapses under section 53A.
	Provision in new subsections 32(6), 53A(6) and paragraph 4A(6) inserted by this section allows building regulations to define when work commences for the purposes of lapse of approval.