Code CONM Policy

Work Carried Out Does Not Comply with Technical Requirements of the Building Regulations

During the monitoring of building work in progress by the Building Control Surveyor, it is commonplace for work to be identified that is in need of correction in order to comply with the Building Regulations. This is part and parcel of the relationship between Building Control Surveyor and whoever is carrying out the building work.

In these instances, the Building Control Surveyor will advise of what needs correcting and will agree a timescale with the builder for when this should be completed. The builder will then usually notify the Building Control Surveyor when the correction has been made and a further inspection will be carried out to check that the work is satisfactory.

There are other occasions when defective building work is identified that cannot be resolved as described above. Examples are:

• the builder refuses to correct the work
• the owner has appointed a new builder part-way through the project
• there is no overall builder for the project as the owner has employed different contractors to carry out separate parts of the work

In these instances, the Council will write to the owner of the work, and if it can, the builder, outlining the contraventions. If the situation remains unresolved and if the situation warrants, the Council may ultimately instigate prosecution proceedings against either or both the owner of the building work and the builder.

In general terms, non-compliance with the regulations is a criminal offence for which the Council can, under the provisions of Section 35 of the Building Act 1984, pursue prosecution proceedings against the perpetrator and/or, under Section 36 of the Act, enforcement action against the owner requiring that the work be corrected or removed .

In terms of the responsibility for correcting the work, Section 36 of the Building Act 1984 places this firmly on the owner, however innocent a party he or she may have been in the matter. Under the provisions of the legislation, the Council can, and if the contraventions are serious enough, will, serve formal notice on the owner setting out details of the defective work and stipulating that this must be removed within 28 days. Failure of the owner to comply with this then enables the Council to carry out the essential work itself and charge the owner for its costs.

Irrespective of any legal proceedings the Council may take, in all cases where contraventions of the Building Regulations have been identified and remain unresolved, the facts of the matter will be recorded on the Council's Property Register and revealed to future purchasers during Searches should the property ever be marketed for sale.