Six questions about what you are planning, and a plain-English summary of the consents the work is likely to need. Free, instant and no contact details required.
Find out which approval questions to ask
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The Sweet Homes building warrant checker is a free self-serve tool for homeowners planning alterations in Edinburgh. Six questions cover internal walls, drainage and sanitary fittings, heating appliances, listed or conservation status, tenement shared parts and changes of use. The result points to questions for the verifier, planning authority, solicitor, factor or the professionals the homeowner appoints. It is guidance, not a determination.
In Scotland, the local authority acts as verifier for building warrants and accepts completion certificates. Schedule 3 of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 identifies work that may not require a warrant, subject to its conditions and exceptions. Property details and the proposed design can change the route, so the appointed architect or warrant professional should confirm it with the verifier before work starts.
The checker runs entirely in the browser. The answers are not submitted or stored.
Source: Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, schedule 3
Sweet Homes is the contractor. The company checks buildability and prices construction from the approved drawings, specification and other information supplied through the homeowner’s appointed team.
How to read what the checker gives you
It says likely, and it means likely
Six questions cannot capture a building. The checker tells you which consents your answers point at, so you know what to ask about and roughly what the project involves. Only City of Edinburgh Council building standards can confirm what your specific job needs.
No warrant does not mean no rules
This is the part people miss. Work listed in schedule 3 can be done without applying for a warrant, but it must still meet the building standards. The exemption is from the paperwork, not from the regulations.
Nothing is sent anywhere
The checker runs in your browser. Your answers are not submitted, stored or seen by Sweet Homes.
What the six questions cover
The alterations that most commonly trigger a consent in Edinburgh housing stock.
Walls
A proposed wall alteration can raise structural and fire-safety questions. The exact wall, property type and design need to be assessed by the homeowner’s appointed professional and confirmed through the verifier where required.
Drainage and sanitary fittings
The location of fittings, the proposed waste connections and the Schedule 3 conditions all matter. The verifier or appointed warrant professional should confirm the route for the exact proposal.
Heating appliances and flues
The appliance, fuel, flue and precise work affect the approval question. The checker flags this interface; the verifier or appointed professional confirms it. Gas work remains with a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Listed status and conservation areas
Listed building consent and planning questions are separate from the building-warrant route. City of Edinburgh Council planning decides whether the proposal needs consent after considering the building and the work.
Tenement shared parts
Work involving common property or shared services can raise title and authority questions. The homeowner should ask the solicitor or factor about the particular property; the checker does not decide ownership or consent.
Changes of use
A proposed loft conversion, turning a garage into a habitable room or a dwelling conversion raises approval questions beyond a room refit. The homeowner’s appointed design team should establish the route with the verifier for the exact proposal.
How to use it
Answer the six questions on this page, then read the summary.
Answer six questions
About the works you are planning, not about you. If you are unsure on a question, pick the more cautious answer. The checker is designed to over-flag rather than under-flag.
Read the summary
The summary appears on this page. Each consent it raises comes with a short plain-English reason, so you can see which of your answers drove it.
Keep the useful details
Copy the points you want to raise with the verifier or appointed professional. The result stays on the checker page until you reset or leave it.
Confirm it properly
Before work starts, the homeowner’s appointed architect or warrant professional should confirm the route with the local authority verifier. Sweet Homes prices the construction information that follows.
What it costs
The six-question checker is free and requires no submission. It does not replace a property inspection, professional design work or a verifier’s decision. The homeowner appoints the architect, structural engineer and warrant professional where the project needs them. Sweet Homes can then price and carry out the defined contractor scope from their approved information.
Check what your project is likely to need
Six questions about the works, not about you. Nothing is submitted or stored. Where you are unsure on a question, choose the more cautious answer.
The difference you will notice
Site experience, not a determination
The checker helps a homeowner recognise common interfaces. It cannot assess a wall, fire separation, drainage route, flue, title condition or listed feature. The relevant appointed professional and authority decide those questions.
A prompt for the professional brief
The result identifies why an answer may matter. The homeowner can take that prompt to the verifier, planning authority, solicitor, factor or appointed design professional without treating it as project approval.
The contractor boundary
Sweet Homes does not act as architect, structural engineer or warrant adviser. The company checks the construction sequence and prices the approved information supplied through the homeowner’s appointed team.
The result stays provisional
The same answers produce the same result. An authority or appointed professional may reach a different conclusion after considering the property, drawings and exact work.
Before you choose a contractor, read this
Our guide to questions to ask before hiring a contractor is free to read and does not require contact details.
Already have drawings or approval information?
If the homeowner’s appointed team has defined the construction scope, email Sweet Homes with the property type, general area and the information already available to request a call about the build.
Where this applies
The checker uses the Scottish building-warrant framework and is written for Edinburgh homeowners. Its result does not override the local authority verifier, planning authority or the homeowner’s appointed professional.
Outside Scotland the system is different and this checker does not apply.
Building warrants in Scotland: things worth knowing
What is a building warrant?
A building warrant is the verifier’s approval of proposed building work under the Scottish system. The applicant submits a completion certificate after the work; the verifier decides whether to accept it. The Scottish Government and the local authority provide the governing guidance.
Does taking out an internal wall need a building warrant?
It can. Schedule 3 contains limited exceptions, but the wall’s structural and fire-safety roles, the property type and the proposed work matter. The homeowner’s appointed architect or warrant professional should establish the route with the verifier; Sweet Homes prices the approved construction information.
Do I need a warrant to move a bathroom?
Schedule 3 includes specific exceptions and conditions for some sanitary work. Moving fittings, forming a new room or changing drainage may alter the position. The verifier or appointed warrant professional should check the exact layout and pipework.
Do I need a warrant to replace my boiler?
The answer depends on the appliance, fuel, flue and exact scope, including the conditions and exceptions in Schedule 3. Ask the verifier or appointed professional before relying on a general answer. Gas work must separately be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Does a loft or garage conversion need a warrant?
A proposal to turn a roof space or garage into habitable accommodation normally raises a building-warrant question. The exact design, existing building and intended use still need to be assessed through the homeowner’s appointed team and the verifier.
What if my flat is listed or in a conservation area?
Listed building consent and planning permission are separate from a building warrant. City of Edinburgh Council planning decides whether the particular proposal needs either consent. The homeowner’s appointed architect should establish that route before Sweet Homes prices the build.
Does work that does not need a warrant still have to meet the regulations?
Schedule 3 states that work within its exceptions still has to meet the applicable building standards, subject to the provisions of that schedule. The appointed professional or verifier can explain what applies to the proposed work.
What happens if work was done without a warrant?
Contact the local authority verifier and an appropriately qualified professional. The available procedure depends on what was built and when. Sweet Homes does not determine or regularise historic approval status.
Further reading and services
Renovation guides
Read the cost, approval, planning and living-through-work guides without submitting any details.
Building warrants explained
The longer read behind the checker: when a warrant is needed for interior alterations in Edinburgh, and what the process involves.
Planning permission in Edinburgh
Where planning permission bites on Edinburgh flats and houses, and how it interacts with warrants and listed consent.
Listed building renovation
Renovating a listed Edinburgh property: consent realism, what is normally permitted, and what is not.
Pre-purchase feasibility walkthrough
A paid, contractor-led review of the visible renovation scope and cost drivers before buying. It does not replace a surveyor, architect, engineer or verifier.
Home renovations
Construction work priced from the drawings, specifications and approval information supplied through the professionals you appoint.
What happens to my checker answers?
The checker runs in your browser. Your answers remain on this page until you start again or leave it; the checker does not save them. Its result is a starting point for discussion with your appointed professional and the council, not an approval.
