UK Standard

Building Regs — Part H — Drainage & SuDS

The Building Regulations — Approved Document H (Drainage and waste disposal)

In short: Approved Document H of the Building Regulations covers drainage, including the SuDS provisions that require surface water from new paved areas over 5m² to be managed on-site rather than run to the public sewer.

What Building Regs — Part H covers

Under the Part H SuDS provisions, a new driveway or patio over 5m² must either drain to a permeable surface, soak away within the property, or have planning permission for connection to a drain.

Free-draining (permeable) construction — Type 3 sub-base under permeable paving, or a soakaway — is the usual way to satisfy Part H without a planning application.

Official source: GOV.UK — Approved Document H. Figures on this page are a plain-English summary for estimating purposes — always refer to the published standard for compliance.