|
|
The two types of Building
Control Service
5.1 If your work amounts to ‘Building Work’ (see paragraphs
3.1and 3.2) it will be subject to, and must comply with, the Building
Regulations. To help you achieve compliance with the
regulations, you are required to use one of two types of Building
Control Service:
- your local authority Building Control Service; or
- an approved inspector’s Building Control Service.
5.2 As explained in paragraph 4.2(i), if your building
work consists only of the installation of certain types of services
or fittings (e.g. some types of drain, fuel burning appliances,
replacement windows, WCs, and showers)
and you employ an installer registered with a relevant scheme
designated in the Building Regulations, you will not need to involve
a Building Control Service. However, this concession is strictly
limited to the specific type of installation described and does
not cover any other type of building work.
5.3 You can contact your local authority Building Control
Service through your district or borough council. Approved inspectors
are private sector companies or practitioners and are approved
for the purpose of carrying out the Building Control Service as
an alternative to your local authority. Approved inspectors can
provide a service in connection with most sorts of building project
involving new buildings or work to existing buildings, including
extensions or alterations to homes. For insurance reasons most
approved inspectors cannot currently deal with projects involving
building new houses, or flats for sale or private renting. All
approved inspectors are registered with the Construction Industry
Council (CIC) who can provide a list of members (see Annex
B: ‘Sources of information’).
5.4 If you are employing a builder to do your work you should be
clear from the outset whether they are taking responsibility for
ensuring that the building work complies with the Building
Regulations, and also whether they are taking responsibility for
liaising with the Building Control Service you have decided to
use (see also paragraph 2.10). In addition, you should bear in
mind that your building work may require planning permission.
You will need to check the position; and if you do require
permission you will need to be clear whether you, your builder
or designer are taking responsibility for obtaining it. Some types of
building development may also be subject to other types of
statutory requirements and consents (see paragraph 1.3).
YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY BUILDING CONTROL SERVICE
5.5 Depending upon the scale and type of work involved you may have
the option of following one of two different procedures available
within this service:
- the deposit of a full plans application; or
- the giving of a building notice (except for certain types
of building work – primarily in respect of fire safety
issues where a building is used as a workplace or where it may
affect a drain)
.
What are the differences between the full plans application
procedure and the building notice procedure? What might influence
my choice?
A full plans application:
5.6 An application deposited under this procedure needs
to contain plans and other information showing all construction
details, preferably well in advance of when work is to start on
site. Your local authority will check your plans and consult any
appropriate authorities (e.g. fire and sewerage).
They must complete the procedure by issuing you with a decision
within five weeks or, if you agree, a maximum of two months from
the date of deposit.
5.7 If your plans comply with the Building Regulations
you will receive a notice stating that they have been approved.
If your local authority is not satisfied you may be asked to make
amendments or provide more details. Alternatively, a conditional
approval may be issued. This will either specify modifications
which must be made to the plans; or will specify further plans
which must be deposited with your authority. Your local authority
may only apply conditions if you have either requested them to
do so or have consented to them doing so. A request or consent
must be made in writing. If your plans are rejected the reasons
will be stated in the notice. A full plans approval notice is
valid for three years from the date of deposit of the plans, after
which the local authority may send you a notice to declare the
approval of no effect if the building work has not commenced.
5.8 Your local authority will carry out inspections
of the building work once it is in progress. They will explain
about the notification procedures which the regulations require
you to follow at various stages of the work – e.g. in connection
with foundations, damp proof courses and drains. In addition,
if you request one when you first make your application, the local
authority will issue you with a completion certificate provided
they are content that the completed work complies with the Building
Regulations (see paragraph 5.22).
5.9 A further point to bear in mind is that, if a disagreement arises
with your local authority, the ‘full plans’ procedure
enables you to ask for a ‘determination’ from (in England)
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or (in Wales) the Welsh
Assembly Government about whether your plans do or do not comply
with the Building Regulations (see paragraph 5.19).
The Building Notice procedure:
5.10 This procedure does not involve the passing or rejecting
of plans. It therefore avoids the preparation of detailed ‘full
plans’, and is designed to enable some types of building
work to get under way quickly; although it is perhaps best suited
to small work. There are also specific exclusions in the regulations
as to when building notices cannot be used. These are for building
work which is subject to section 1 of the Fire
Precautions Act 1971 or Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace)
Regulations 1997; for work which will be built close to or over
the top of rain water and foul drains shown on the ‘map
of sewers’ (see paragraph 3.3); and where a new building
will front onto a private street. If you decide to use this procedure
you need to be confident that the work will comply with the Building
Regulations or you will risk having to correct any work you carry
out if your local authority requests this. In this respect you
do not have the protection provided by the approval of ‘full
plans’.
5.11 Once you have given your ‘building notice’
and informed your local authority that you are about to start
work, the work will be inspected as it progresses. You will be
advised by the authority if the work does not comply with the
Building Regulations. If before the start of work, or while work
is in progress, your local authority requires further information
such as structural design calculations or plans, you must supply
the details requested. A ‘building notice’ is valid
for three years from the date the notice was given to the local
authority, after which it will automatically lapse if the building
work has not commenced.
5.12 A local authority is not required
to issue a completion certificate under the ‘building notice’
procedure; and because no ‘full plans’ are produced
it is not possible to ask for a determination if your local authority
says your work does not comply with the Building Regulations (see
paragraph 5.19).
Do I have to pay for the local authority service?
5.13 Yes – a charge is payable to your local authority
and will be subject to VAT. Each authority is required to set
its own individual charges according to the type of work involved
and to publish them in a ‘scheme’ which they will
be able to make available to you on request. The basis for setting
the charges is contained in The Building (Local Authority Charges)
Regulations 1998, which require amongst other things that local
authorities fix their charges with the aim of recovering the costs
of carrying out their service. The regulations also exempt from
charging for certain types of building work which are solely for
the benefit of disabled people. Is there any difference in cost
between a Full Plans application and a Building Notice procedure?
5.14 In general there should not be. This is because
the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 1998 require
that the ‘plan charge’ for the full plans application
procedure, plus the subsequent ‘inspection charge’
made under this procedure, should equal the ‘building notice
charge’ (a charge which includes the cost of inspection).
5.15 The ‘plan charge’ and ‘building
notice charge’ are payable when you deposit your full plans
or give your notice respectively; and the ‘inspection charge’
is payable after the first inspection has taken place. Only one
inspection charge is payable no matter how many may be necessary.
Your local authority will be able to tell you the exact charges
by referring to their scheme of charges. When can I start work?
5.16 If you have deposited a ‘full plans’
application you will only receive the full benefit and protection
from this procedure if you wait until you have received a notice
of approval before starting your work. However, if you choose
to there is nothing to stop you starting work once you have deposited
your plans and given your local authority a commencement notice
at least two clear days (not including the day on which you give
notice and any Saturday, Sunday, Bank or public holiday) before
you start.
5.17 If on the other hand you have chosen to use the
‘building notice’ procedure (see paragraphs 5.10 –
5.12), this procedure is specifically designed to enable you to
start work once you have given the notice to your local authority
followed by a commencement notice at least two clear days (not
including the day on which you give notice and any Saturday, Sunday,
Bank or public holiday) before you start. What can I do if a disagreement
arises with my local authority and/or my full plans are rejected?
5.18 If you are content to do so, the simplest way to
proceed if your plans are rejected may be to re-submit your ‘full
plans’ application with the local authority’s suggested
amendments so that it can give you a notice of approval. You will
then have the benefit and protection of having your full plans
approved. You may not have to pay any additional charge for this.
Alternatively, there is nothing to stop you starting work provided
you give the necessary ‘commencement notice’ and ensure
that your building work complies with the Building Regulations.
But you should bear in mind that if it does not comply your local
authority may take enforcement action (see paragraphs 6.3 and
6.4).
5.19 However, if you believe that the plans you submitted
do comply with the Building Regulations and do not therefore want
to amend them because you disagree with your local authority’s
view, you can refer the matter (in England) to the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister or (in Wales) to the Welsh Assembly Government
by asking for a determination as to whether or not your proposals
comply with particular requirements in the regulations. You can
ask for a determination before or after your local authority gives
a formal decision on your plans but can only do so before the
work has substantially started.
5.20 Alternatively, if you believe that a particular
requirement of the Building Regulations is too onerous or inappropriate
to the particular circumstances of the work, you can apply to
your local authority to relax or dispense with it. If your authority
refuses your application you could then appeal against this decision
(in England) to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or (in
Wales) to the Welsh Assembly Government within one month of the
refusal.
5.21 The former DTLR in conjunction with the National
Assembly for Wales published ‘A Guide to Determinations
and Appeals’ (see Annex B: ‘Sources
of information’) which sets out details of the procedures
involved. Can I get a completion certificate when the building
work is finished?
5.22 Yes – provided the completed work complies
with the Building Regulations. Where full plans are submitted
for work which is also subject to section 1 of the Fire Precautions
Act 1971 or Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations
1997 the Local Authority must, if satisfied, issue you with a
completion certificate about compliance with the fire safety requirements
of the Building Regulations when the work is finished. In other
circumstances where full plans are submitted, you may ask to be
given a completion certificate when the work is finished, but
you must have made your request when you first submitted your
plans. The local authority is not however required to issue a
completion certificate when the building notice procedure has
been used. A completion certificate is evidence (but not conclusive
evidence) that the requirements specified in the certificate have
been complied with.
AN APPROVED INSPECTOR’S BUILDING CONTROL SERVICE
5.23 When you use an approved inspector, they will take
on responsibility for plan checking and inspection of your building
work. The procedure requires you and the approved inspector jointly
to notify your local authority of your intended building work
on what is called an initial notice. Once this notice has been
accepted by your local authority the responsibility for plan checking
and site inspection will be formally placed on the approved inspector.
5.24 An approved inspector will: l advise you on how
the Building Regulations apply to your work; l check your plans;
l issue a plans certificate (if requested); l inspect the work
as it progresses; and l issue a final certificate. The approved
inspector will tell you what plans and information they need in
order to check that the proposed work will comply with the Building
Regulations.
5.25 If you ask for one, the approved inspector will
issue a plans certificate which will confirm that the plans of
your proposed building work show compliance with the Building
Regulations. When the work is complete the approved inspector
must issue a final certificate to the local authority to say that
the work referred to in the initial notice is complete, and that
the inspector has carried out their inspection responsibilities.
If the approved inspector is not satisfied that the work complies,
then they cannot give the final certificate. If you are not prepared
to change the work the approved inspector will have to refer the
matter to the local authority (see paragraphs 5.28 and 6.2).
Do I have to pay for the services of the approved inspector?
5.26 Yes – a fee will be payable which will be
a matter for negotiation between you and the inspector. It will
be subject to VAT.
What can I do if the approved inspector is not satisfied with
my proposals or with my work in progress?
5.27 If the approved inspector is not satisfied with plans of your work,
the options available to you will be:
- to alter your plans according to the approved inspector’s
advice;
- to ask for a determination (in England) from the Office of
the Deputy Prime Minister or (in Wales) from the Welsh Assembly
Government of any disagreement on the plans arising between
you and the approved inspector. (This is similar to the procedure
which would be open to you if you were using the Building Control
Service of your local authority and as explained in paragraph
5.19);
- to apply to your local authority for a relaxation or a dispensation
of a requirement of the Building Regulations and, in the event
of a refusal by your authority, appeal (in England) to the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minster or (in Wales) to the Welsh Assembly
Government. (This is the same procedure as would be open to
you if you were using the Building Control Service of your local
authority and as explained in paragraph 5.20).
5.28 If the approved inspector is not satisfied with
work in progress on site, and you cannot resolve the disagreement
by discussion, the inspector will have to cancel the initial notice
by a notice to the local authority. This will terminate the inspector’s
building control responsibility for your project. In these circumstances
the Building Control Service function is likely to have to revert
to your local authority. Thereafter your authority may ask for
plans and, if necessary, require the uncovering of work to enable
them to reach a view on the compliance of your work so far, and
on what changes are needed. They will charge you what is called
a ‘reversion charge’ to cover the cost of their on-going
Building Control Service. When can I start work?
5.29 Subject to any arrangements
you have agreed with your approved inspector, you may start work
as soon as the initial notice is accepted by your local authority.Work
cannot start if the initial notice is rejected. But if the notice
has not been validly rejected by your authority within five days
of being given, then it is treated as having been accepted.
|
|
