Bathrooms
Refitting a bathroom in a tenement flat
A building warrant for a bathroom in an Edinburgh flat depends on the job: like-for-like swaps and moving a fitting within the room are listed exemptions, but a new WC is not, so check first.
By the Pipes Up the Stair site team · how pages are checked · Updated
The widest exemption in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 applies only to houses, and a tenement flat isn't one. Listed status, shared soil stacks and asbestos each add their own checks.
What is a building warrant?
It is the legal permission to start building work. The City of Edinburgh Council says that if you carry out work needing a warrant without first obtaining one, you are committing an offence, and that breaking the regulations can bring a fine of up to £5,000. Work listed in Schedule 3 needs no warrant but, under regulation 5, must still meet the building standards.
Why doesn't the "house" exemption cover a flat?
Because a flat isn't a "house" in the regulations. Type 1 in Schedule 3 covers work to or in a house, and regulation 2 defines a house as a dwelling divided from the rest of the building only vertically. A flat is divided horizontally from the homes above and below, so type 1 doesn't help. The council's FAQ lists bathroom refits under type 1, which is easy to misread.
Which bathroom jobs are exempt in a flat?
Type 11 covers providing a single sanitary facility with its branch soil or waste pipe, except a WC, waterless closet or urinal. Type 12 covers moving a sanitary facility within the same room or space. Type 24 covers like-for-like replacement, including sanitary facilities, as long as the result is no worse than before. The regulations count a washbasin, sink, bath, shower, urinal or WC as a sanitary facility.
| Job | Schedule 3 type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Swap an old bath for a new one in the same place | Type 24 | Must leave things no worse |
| Move the basin to another wall of the same room | Type 12 | Includes its branch pipe |
| Add a shower or basin | Type 11 | One facility; not a WC |
| Add a new WC | Not type 11 | Ask the council's building standards service |
| Move a bathroom into another room | Not types 11 or 12 | Ask before starting |
The Scottish Government's Procedural Handbook explains that some Schedule 3 work need only leave the building no worse. If your plan doesn't fit a type cleanly, ask before you start.
How long does a warrant take?
The council's target for a first response is 20 working days, and a warrant stays valid for three years. The fee depends on the estimated value of the work, with no fee for work solely for a disabled person. Warrants submitted on or after 1 January 2025 are assessed against the current domestic Technical Handbook.
What about the shared soil stack?
Treat it as a shared part. A stack that several flats drain into is shared under the Tenements Act, and the council's FAQ says a warrant doesn't deal with mutual parts, so affected owners should be told about work involving them. Under One Roof, a Scottish charity, names owners breaking into pipes to fit sink and bath outflows as a known tenement problem; a new connection to a shared stack needs the other owners' agreement and a plumber.
Is your flat listed or in a conservation area?
If so, the City of Edinburgh Council decides what needs consent. Its September 2025 guidance says listed building consent is needed for any work affecting a listed building's character, but that a new bathroom replacing a modern one rarely needs it. It asks for new bathrooms at the rear, to keep downpipes off the front, with any extractor fan kept off the front elevation and out of windows and fanlights. More on listed buildings and conservation areas.
Could there be asbestos behind the old bath?
In an older flat, possibly. HSE warns that any home built or refurbished before the year 2000 may contain it, and lists toilet cisterns, water tanks, pipe lagging, textured coatings and floor tiles among typical places. Its home diagram includes asbestos insulating board or cement bath panels.
2000
year before which HSE says asbestos may be present
Source: HSE
20 working days
council's target for a first warrant response
Source: Edinburgh building standards
Asked on the stair
Does replacing a gas boiler during the refit count as like-for-like?
Not under type 24, which excludes gas and oil boilers. Boilers have their own rules; see boilers in tenement flats.
Is a shower over the bath a new sanitary facility?
A shower is a sanitary facility under the regulations, so adding one is likely to fall under type 11. Ask the council if unsure.
Can old bathroom asbestos go out with the rubbish?
No. HSE says it is hazardous waste and must not be mixed with household waste.
Who should know before the bathroom comes out?
Neighbours sharing the stack, your factor, and your builders, who HSE says should hear about known asbestos.
Where this comes from
- Building standards FAQ — City of Edinburgh Council: offence, fine, 20 days, three years, mutual parts
- Regulation 2 — legislation.gov.uk: "house" and "sanitary facility"
- Regulation 5 — legislation.gov.uk: Schedule 3 work must meet standards
- Schedule 3 — legislation.gov.uk: types 1, 11, 12 and 24
- Technical Handbook, January 2025, domestic — Scottish Government: applies to warrants from 1 January 2025
- Procedural Handbook v1.9 — Scottish Government: parts A and B of Schedule 3
- Listed buildings and conservation areas — City of Edinburgh Council: bathrooms, extractor fans
- Asbestos FAQ — HSE: leave alone, licensed removal, tell builders, waste
- Asbestos: why and where — HSE: buildings before 2000
- Drainpipes — Under One Roof (secondary): connections into downpipes