Use of suitable construction products

The planning and building legislation states that the developer shall use suitable construction products. The suitability is based on a case-by-case assessment, using product details found primarily in CE marking but sometimes in other ways also specified in the legislation.

While legislation for products is harmonised at EU level, national legislation applies for the construction works into which the products are to be incorporated. The Swedish planning and building legislation require that construction products only should be included in a construction work if they are suitable for the intended use. 

The building regulations from the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning set basic requirements for the complete building. In order to meet these requirements, it is necessary to use construction products with suitable properties. The properties shall also be known in relation to the building's capacity to meet the requirements in the building regulations. 

The Swedish building regulations are performance based and contain few product-level requirements and it is the developer who is responsible for choosing products with suitable properties. This means that construction products and materials shall have known and documented properties with regard to those aspects that are relevant to the building’s ability to comply with the requirements. Construction products with pre-assessed properties shall be deemed to have known and documented properties with regard to those aspects in which they are pre-assessed.

The building regulations provide four ways to assess the properties of construction products, the primary one being CE marking under the European Construction Products Regulation. Other ways to pre-assess the properties of construction products are national type-approval or product certification by an accredited certification body. Products that have been manufactured in a factory whose manufacture, production control and the result thereof for the construction product are continuously monitored, assessed and approved by an accredited certification body, are also deemed to have pre-assessed properties.

An assessment issued by a certification body in the European Economic Area or in Türkiye shall also be accepted, if the body provides equivalent guarantees of technical and professional competence as well as guarantees of independence, by means other than accreditation for the task under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

Other applicable legislation

Other legislation may also affect the suitability of a construction product, such as the national choices to the Eurocodes, which are found in the Boverket regulations and general advice on the load-bearing capacity, stability and durability of buildings, etc. Provisions regarding civil engineering works are governed by The Transport Agency, Transportstyrelsen.

Depending on the specific product, provisions from other agencies might apply. For example, the National Electrical Safety Board, Elsäkerhetsverket, provides regulations on electrical safety which is an essential characteristic for some construction products and the Work Environment Authority, Arbetsmiljöverket, has provisions related to workers' safety.