Insights · Building Regulations

Building Regulations

The Technical Guidance Documents, Parts A–M

General guidance · reviewed 2026

In Ireland the legal requirements are set by the Building Regulations. Each functional part — from Part A (Structure) through to Part M (Access and Use) — is accompanied by a Technical Guidance Document (TGD) published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Work carried out in accordance with the relevant TGD is taken as prima facie evidence of compliance with the Regulations — the familiar "deemed to satisfy" route.

The distinction that trips design packs is that the TGD is guidance, not the law: an alternative approach can comply if it meets the functional requirement, and conversely following an out-of-date edition of a TGD does not demonstrate compliance with the current Regulations. Editions and amendments change part by part — Part B, Part L and Part M have all seen revisions on different timelines — so a pack assembled from templates can end up citing a superseded document without anyone noticing.

Before a pack goes out: confirm every TGD, standard and code cited is the edition currently in force, and that no clause has been carried across from a template built under an earlier revision.
— More from Insights
BC(A)R 2014 — the paper trail from Commencement to CCC TGD B and IS 3218 — fire strategy and alarm design TGD M 2022 — the access edition now in force

General information, not advice. These notes summarise widely-published Irish standards and regulations for orientation only. Editions, amendments and effective dates change; always verify against the current official source (the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, and the Office of Government Procurement) and rely on the judgement of a registered professional. VerifIQ is a software-based reading aid — it surfaces, in the documents' own words, what a registered professional may wish to read closely. It does not certify, sign or opine.