Why you must comply with the rules, how to go about it and the implications of new legislation
Certain construction works must meet Building Regulations requirements. To comply, the correct procedures must be followed and the relevant technical performance standards met. If your project does not conform, the work will not be legal. It also may not be safe, and could cause health problems, injury or death, and fail to meet energy-efficiency standards. Should the work be faulty, your local authority could insist that you put it right at your own expense. You might even be prosecuted and face a fine.
Who can help?
In England and Wales a local authority Building Control (LABC) team or a private approved inspector can handle your project from the planning stage. If you opt to hire an approved inspector, they will inform the local authority about the work by submitting an initial notice.
Or if the work consists of installing certain types of services or fittings, such as heating appliances or replacement windows, the Competent Person Scheme enables some trades to issue the relevant certificates and notify the local authority, in which case a Building Control team does not need to be notified.
In Scotland, Building Regulations are known as Building Standards and administered and enforced by local authorities only.
Only LABC teams have powers of enforcement, which may give peace of mind in the event of a dispute with your builder. By contrast, an approved inspector must hand the project over to the council department if there are problems that cannot be resolved informally.
Building Control fees vary depending on the complexity of the project, the number of inspections needed and the experience of the person doing the work. Generally, there is little difference price-wise between using an approved inspector and an LABC team. Both ensure your work complies, as far as can be ascertained by inspections, with all the relevant parts of the Building Regulations.
Building Safety Act
This newly implemented legislation has implications for anyone commissioning, designing or carrying out a construction project, whether self-build or renovation, as they must take on new responsibilities as the accountable person, principal designer, usually the architect or architectural technician, and principal contractor. ‘It is the r
