The Institute answers
Do you need a Section 80 notice to demolish a building?
The short answer
In most cases in England and Wales, yes. Section 80 of the Building Act 1984 requires notice to be given to the local authority before demolishing all or part of a building, with limited exemptions including certain small buildings and some agricultural structures. Demolition should not begin until the authority has responded or the notice period has run.
What this rests on
- Building Act 1984, section 80
- Requires a person intending to demolish all or part of a building to notify the local authority, subject to exemptions set out in the section.
- Building Act 1984, section 81
- Allows the local authority to serve a counter-notice specifying requirements the demolition must satisfy — shoring, weatherproofing adjoining property, disconnection of services, and similar.
- Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and permitted development rights
- A separate regime. Some demolition requires planning permission or prior approval; the Section 80 notice does not address it.
- CDM 2015 regulation 20
- A further separate duty: demolition must be planned and the arrangements recorded in writing before work begins.
What the notice is for
Section 80 exists so that a local authority knows a building is coming down before it does, and can attach conditions to protect what is around it. Those conditions are the point: shoring an adjoining property, making good a party wall, sealing off drains and sewers, disconnecting gas and electricity, and making the site safe. A demolition that is fine in isolation can be seriously unsafe in the context of what it is attached to.
When it applies
The requirement bites on demolishing the whole or part of a building, which catches more work than people expect — partial demolition and substantial structural removal can fall within it even where the building remains standing.
The section sets out exemptions. Broadly, they cover certain small buildings, internal works where the building remains occupied, some greenhouses, conservatories and prefabricated structures, and some agricultural buildings. Because the exemptions turn on the specific facts of a building, the sensible course is to describe the work to building control and let them confirm which side of the line it falls — the enquiry costs nothing and the assumption can cost a great deal.
What happens after you serve it
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Notice served | Given to the local authority, and copied to the relevant utilities and to occupiers of adjoining buildings as the section requires. |
| Authority considers | The authority may serve a counter-notice under section 81 setting out what the demolition must do — shoring, weatherproofing, disconnections, making good. |
| Before starting | Work should not begin until the authority has responded or the statutory period has elapsed, and any counter-notice requirements are provided for. |
| During | Counter-notice requirements are conditions on how the work is done, not suggestions. |
The three regimes people confuse
A great deal of avoidable trouble comes from treating these as one process. They are three, and satisfying one says nothing about the others.
- Section 80 notice — building control. Tells the authority the building is coming down so it can attach protective conditions.
- Planning — a separate regime. Some demolition needs permission or prior approval, particularly in conservation areas, for listed buildings, or where the building has a protected status.
- CDM 2015 — health and safety. Requires the demolition to be planned and the arrangements recorded in writing before it begins, regardless of what building control or planning have said.
A project can hold a valid Section 80 acknowledgement, have no planning issue, and still be unlawful and unsafe because nobody planned the sequence.Who holds which duty →
Where an engineer earns their fee
Most of what a counter-notice asks for — shoring, support to adjoining structures, making good a party wall — is engineering, not paperwork. It depends on understanding how the structure carries load now and how it will carry load part-way through removal, which is the specific competence the Institute assesses.
If you are appointing someone to plan this work, specify the grade you need and check it against the Institute’s register rather than the letters on an email signature.Search the register →
What this does not mean
- This page is not legal advice, and it does not determine whether an exemption applies to your building. The local authority is the deciding party — ask them.
- A Section 80 notice is not planning permission and does not replace it. The two regimes run in parallel and both may apply.
- Serving notice does not discharge your duties under CDM 2015, nor any asbestos, party wall, listed building, protected species or environmental permitting obligations.
- This describes the position in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland operate under different building control legislation.
- Thresholds and procedure can change. Confirm the current position with the local authority before relying on anything here.