Building Control help - Approved Inspector has ditched me
Discussion
Hi all,
Could really do with some advice (or who to contact for professional advice)
I won’t go into details but I ended up using a Private company for building inspections on my extension and garage conversion on recommendation from the builders.
Due to rising material costs etc at the time the agreement with the builder was to build to the point the rooms are plastered with plumbing electrics etc in place (2022), we would then finish off as funds allowed (we did bedroom straight off, then en-suite followed a few months later, and utility was completed this year when we also replaced the kitchen. The Inspector was happy with this at the time and stated that it was just a case of arranging final inspection once done.
Fast forward this year and have a mare getting this sorted, they then produce a list of nonsense which should have been ticked off long before builders left site and I know the inspector visited where these items were visible (lateral strapping, structural calcs, insulation etc )
Anyway finally got the final bits completed (smoke alarms - oversight by me) and thought I got it all ticked off to be completed as the tracker page for my project had been pulled.
Yesterday I then get the following email:
—————
Dear Sir
Please see recent communication below in respect of the above project.
We are writing to inform you of an important change regarding our service on your project.
As of 1 October 2024, the transitional arrangements which have allowed [Company] to continue as an Approved Inspector come to an end. From that point, the building control function will only be exercisable by Local Authority Building Control or a company which is registered as a RBCA (Registered Building Control Approver).
Due to this, your projects will be cancelled under s.52(1)(a) of the BA 1984 on the basis that [Company] can from that point no longer carry out its functions. Likewise, our contractual engagement by you is hereby terminated under clause [3-10.3] Your project will revert to the Local Authority, and you will need to contact them for the next steps.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause – if you have any comments/queries please contact our complaints dept on the following email address
[Removed email]
————-
Now for a start I have received no previous comms on this so this has caught me off guard completely.
Secondly, what the hell do I do from here? Would the local authority accept the private company’s paperwork to sign it off?
Am I entitled to have a copy of the project files for this purpose?
I have emailed the company back but I very much doubt I will get any answers from them - I have been hitting brick wall after brick wall for months.
Surely they cannot take my money then not sign off my project? They reference terms and conditions to a contract I didn’t sign as my initial contract was with a subcompany which then at some point became this main company ( another saga).
I’m guessing if you are in the Building inspection game you’ll have an idea of which company this is but don’t want to cause more agro with them until this is resolved.
I am going to ring the LA today but would appreciate anyone in the know being able to give some advice.
Many thanks.
Could really do with some advice (or who to contact for professional advice)
I won’t go into details but I ended up using a Private company for building inspections on my extension and garage conversion on recommendation from the builders.
Due to rising material costs etc at the time the agreement with the builder was to build to the point the rooms are plastered with plumbing electrics etc in place (2022), we would then finish off as funds allowed (we did bedroom straight off, then en-suite followed a few months later, and utility was completed this year when we also replaced the kitchen. The Inspector was happy with this at the time and stated that it was just a case of arranging final inspection once done.
Fast forward this year and have a mare getting this sorted, they then produce a list of nonsense which should have been ticked off long before builders left site and I know the inspector visited where these items were visible (lateral strapping, structural calcs, insulation etc )
Anyway finally got the final bits completed (smoke alarms - oversight by me) and thought I got it all ticked off to be completed as the tracker page for my project had been pulled.
Yesterday I then get the following email:
—————
Dear Sir
Please see recent communication below in respect of the above project.
We are writing to inform you of an important change regarding our service on your project.
As of 1 October 2024, the transitional arrangements which have allowed [Company] to continue as an Approved Inspector come to an end. From that point, the building control function will only be exercisable by Local Authority Building Control or a company which is registered as a RBCA (Registered Building Control Approver).
Due to this, your projects will be cancelled under s.52(1)(a) of the BA 1984 on the basis that [Company] can from that point no longer carry out its functions. Likewise, our contractual engagement by you is hereby terminated under clause [3-10.3] Your project will revert to the Local Authority, and you will need to contact them for the next steps.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause – if you have any comments/queries please contact our complaints dept on the following email address
[Removed email]
————-
Now for a start I have received no previous comms on this so this has caught me off guard completely.
Secondly, what the hell do I do from here? Would the local authority accept the private company’s paperwork to sign it off?
Am I entitled to have a copy of the project files for this purpose?
I have emailed the company back but I very much doubt I will get any answers from them - I have been hitting brick wall after brick wall for months.
Surely they cannot take my money then not sign off my project? They reference terms and conditions to a contract I didn’t sign as my initial contract was with a subcompany which then at some point became this main company ( another saga).
I’m guessing if you are in the Building inspection game you’ll have an idea of which company this is but don’t want to cause more agro with them until this is resolved.
I am going to ring the LA today but would appreciate anyone in the know being able to give some advice.
Many thanks.
As you have said phone the LA.
Don't fret too much it is all resolvable. Unfortunately you will likely be asked to pay some (not all) more money.
If you have all the info asked of you send it across. I would personally send over the following:
Plans
Calcs
Elec cert
Fensa (unless the bc was covering windows)
Just to make their life easier. They will still want to come out and do a final inspection so expect that.
Don't fret too much it is all resolvable. Unfortunately you will likely be asked to pay some (not all) more money.
If you have all the info asked of you send it across. I would personally send over the following:
Plans
Calcs
Elec cert
Fensa (unless the bc was covering windows)
Just to make their life easier. They will still want to come out and do a final inspection so expect that.
From the 6th April this year all private building control bodies (RBCA’s) and every building control surveyor, whether private or local authority were required to register with the HSE to be allowed to practice.
These requirements were brought in following the Grenfell Enquiry and the Building Safety Act to ensure that those working on buildings are competent for the buildings they are looking at.
RBCA’s who chose not to register were given 6 months transitional provisions to complete any existing jobs on their books or to transfer these to another building control provider.
Not all private building control companies chose to register; some because they didn’t have sufficient qualified staff to meet the entry criteria, others because they were under legal sanctions and may not have been allowed entry and others simply because they were too small and the hassle was to too much.
None of this helps you, since as you’ve found out your project has now been transferred to the local authority.
At this moment in time you don’t have a valid building control application anymore so the first thing you will need to do before you do any more work is submit one to the council and pay a fee which will be based on the amount of work that they will need to do to complete the application.
You then need to provide as much detail to them as possible as to how your work complies and what works are still outstanding. This might include:
Copies of all drawings
Calculations
All letters and correspondences sent to you such as plan check comments, project trackers, plan approval certificates and any emails confirming these items have been resolved.
Copies of all site inspection records (you can request these)
Any Photographs of works on progress
The more information you can provide, the quicker and more easily this can be resolved.
Please also be patient and mindful that these applications are a massive burden to the local authorities who like the RBCA’s are equally stretched and facing their own resourcing issues. LA’s had no prior warning from HSE as to how many applications would be reverted and we alone have received 500 since the start of October and are expecting many more.
These requirements were brought in following the Grenfell Enquiry and the Building Safety Act to ensure that those working on buildings are competent for the buildings they are looking at.
RBCA’s who chose not to register were given 6 months transitional provisions to complete any existing jobs on their books or to transfer these to another building control provider.
Not all private building control companies chose to register; some because they didn’t have sufficient qualified staff to meet the entry criteria, others because they were under legal sanctions and may not have been allowed entry and others simply because they were too small and the hassle was to too much.
None of this helps you, since as you’ve found out your project has now been transferred to the local authority.
At this moment in time you don’t have a valid building control application anymore so the first thing you will need to do before you do any more work is submit one to the council and pay a fee which will be based on the amount of work that they will need to do to complete the application.
You then need to provide as much detail to them as possible as to how your work complies and what works are still outstanding. This might include:
Copies of all drawings
Calculations
All letters and correspondences sent to you such as plan check comments, project trackers, plan approval certificates and any emails confirming these items have been resolved.
Copies of all site inspection records (you can request these)
Any Photographs of works on progress
The more information you can provide, the quicker and more easily this can be resolved.
Please also be patient and mindful that these applications are a massive burden to the local authorities who like the RBCA’s are equally stretched and facing their own resourcing issues. LA’s had no prior warning from HSE as to how many applications would be reverted and we alone have received 500 since the start of October and are expecting many more.
This is interesting.
We had a similar issue with an independent Building Control sign off on our bungalow conversion/garage build. We found when we asked for the final certificate the company we had been using had merged with another company. This new company said inspections were missing that we knew had been completed. Fortunately our builder had record photos and we were able to close out no problem.
I thought we were just unlucky that this merger happened and disrupted things. Looks like it was because of this change in the law. We didn't receive any communication either.
We had a similar issue with an independent Building Control sign off on our bungalow conversion/garage build. We found when we asked for the final certificate the company we had been using had merged with another company. This new company said inspections were missing that we knew had been completed. Fortunately our builder had record photos and we were able to close out no problem.
I thought we were just unlucky that this merger happened and disrupted things. Looks like it was because of this change in the law. We didn't receive any communication either.
For years now lots of the AI `s have got so far into a project and pulled the plug, I was getting 2 or 3 jobs a week reverting to the Local Authority BC
usually as "they are unable to contact the owner" but when I knock on the door the owner says they never saw an inspector, or had any contact,
as smokey said in april this year everyone had to register and carry out more testing/examinations, after 50 years in the job, I and 3 others decided that we had had enough, so we retired,
a few AI`s were "struck off" each year due to various reasons,
and yet builders kept using them???
as few told me "they would not use the LA as we turned up to inspect"
usually as "they are unable to contact the owner" but when I knock on the door the owner says they never saw an inspector, or had any contact,
as smokey said in april this year everyone had to register and carry out more testing/examinations, after 50 years in the job, I and 3 others decided that we had had enough, so we retired,
a few AI`s were "struck off" each year due to various reasons,
and yet builders kept using them???
as few told me "they would not use the LA as we turned up to inspect"
smokey mow said:
From the 6th April this year all private building control bodies (RBCA’s) and every building control surveyor, whether private or local authority were required to register with the HSE to be allowed to practice.
These requirements were brought in following the Grenfell Enquiry and the Building Safety Act to ensure that those working on buildings are competent for the buildings they are looking at.
RBCA’s who chose not to register were given 6 months transitional provisions to complete any existing jobs on their books or to transfer these to another building control provider.
Not all private building control companies chose to register; some because they didn’t have sufficient qualified staff to meet the entry criteria, others because they were under legal sanctions and may not have been allowed entry and others simply because they were too small and the hassle was to too much.
None of this helps you, since as you’ve found out your project has now been transferred to the local authority.
At this moment in time you don’t have a valid building control application anymore so the first thing you will need to do before you do any more work is submit one to the council and pay a fee which will be based on the amount of work that they will need to do to complete the application.
You then need to provide as much detail to them as possible as to how your work complies and what works are still outstanding. This might include:
Copies of all drawings
Calculations
All letters and correspondences sent to you such as plan check comments, project trackers, plan approval certificates and any emails confirming these items have been resolved.
Copies of all site inspection records (you can request these)
Any Photographs of works on progress
The more information you can provide, the quicker and more easily this can be resolved.
Please also be patient and mindful that these applications are a massive burden to the local authorities who like the RBCA’s are equally stretched and facing their own resourcing issues. LA’s had no prior warning from HSE as to how many applications would be reverted and we alone have received 500 since the start of October and are expecting many more.
Thanks for posting this advice. These requirements were brought in following the Grenfell Enquiry and the Building Safety Act to ensure that those working on buildings are competent for the buildings they are looking at.
RBCA’s who chose not to register were given 6 months transitional provisions to complete any existing jobs on their books or to transfer these to another building control provider.
Not all private building control companies chose to register; some because they didn’t have sufficient qualified staff to meet the entry criteria, others because they were under legal sanctions and may not have been allowed entry and others simply because they were too small and the hassle was to too much.
None of this helps you, since as you’ve found out your project has now been transferred to the local authority.
At this moment in time you don’t have a valid building control application anymore so the first thing you will need to do before you do any more work is submit one to the council and pay a fee which will be based on the amount of work that they will need to do to complete the application.
You then need to provide as much detail to them as possible as to how your work complies and what works are still outstanding. This might include:
Copies of all drawings
Calculations
All letters and correspondences sent to you such as plan check comments, project trackers, plan approval certificates and any emails confirming these items have been resolved.
Copies of all site inspection records (you can request these)
Any Photographs of works on progress
The more information you can provide, the quicker and more easily this can be resolved.
Please also be patient and mindful that these applications are a massive burden to the local authorities who like the RBCA’s are equally stretched and facing their own resourcing issues. LA’s had no prior warning from HSE as to how many applications would be reverted and we alone have received 500 since the start of October and are expecting many more.
Before reading this thread I was unaware of the changes to building control. I've been chasing my building control contractor for the past several months about my extension, which is completed but not signed off.
Now it is obvious why he went silent on me, and I could get no reply from either him or his office. I was told this morning when I rang another regional office that they no longer do building control work (even though their web site says they do, and it's in the company name), and that the inspector who'd dealt with my job left two weeks ago. To top it off I was also told that I won't be getting any money back.
In hindsight he was a pretty poor inspector, he didn't want to come out and do any inspections as his area was the north west and I'm in West Yorkshire. He inherited my extension when someone else left the company. He came out twice, once to inspect the piling and foundations, and again to see the steel work, advising that we take pictures and sort it out at the end of the job for the confirmation of fire boarding and insulation.
Since reading this post earlier today I've been in contact with my local council building control department, and am awaiting their response.
I don't know if I have a leg to stand on regarding the money that I've paid, (£600)
SteBrown91 said:
As of 1 October 2024, the transitional arrangements which have allowed [Company] to continue as an Approved Inspector come to an end. From that point, the building control function will only be exercisable by Local Authority Building Control or a company which is registered as a RBCA (Registered Building Control Approver).
Due to this, your projects will be cancelled under s.52(1)(a) of the BA 1984 on the basis that [Company] can from that point no longer carry out its functions. Likewise, our contractual engagement by you is hereby terminated under clause [3-10.3] Your project will revert to the Local Authority, and you will need to contact them for the next steps.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause
Now for a start I have received no previous comms on this so this has caught me off guard completely.
Same situation for me.
Secondly, what the hell do I do from here? Would the local authority accept the private company’s paperwork to sign it off?
Am I entitled to have a copy of the project files for this purpose?
I have emailed the company back but I very much doubt I will get any answers from them - I have been hitting brick wall after brick wall for months.
Surely they cannot take my money then not sign off my project? They reference terms and conditions to a contract I didn’t sign as my initial contract was with a subcompany which then at some point became this main company ( another saga).
.
I'm in the same boat as SteBrown91, and received exactly the same response, word for word as the one he posted above.Due to this, your projects will be cancelled under s.52(1)(a) of the BA 1984 on the basis that [Company] can from that point no longer carry out its functions. Likewise, our contractual engagement by you is hereby terminated under clause [3-10.3] Your project will revert to the Local Authority, and you will need to contact them for the next steps.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause
Now for a start I have received no previous comms on this so this has caught me off guard completely.
Same situation for me.
Secondly, what the hell do I do from here? Would the local authority accept the private company’s paperwork to sign it off?
Am I entitled to have a copy of the project files for this purpose?
I have emailed the company back but I very much doubt I will get any answers from them - I have been hitting brick wall after brick wall for months.
Surely they cannot take my money then not sign off my project? They reference terms and conditions to a contract I didn’t sign as my initial contract was with a subcompany which then at some point became this main company ( another saga).
.
I've also spent months chasing them, and been ignored up until today.
I suspect we may have used the same company.
PH5121 said:
Now it is obvious why he went silent on me, and I could get no reply from either him or his office. I was told this morning when I rang another regional office that they no longer do building control work (even though their web site says they do, and it's in the company name), and that the inspector who'd dealt with my job left two weeks ago. To top it off I was also told that I won't be getting any money back.
from that description I’m almost certain I know the company you’ve used. If so they own two other RBCA’s and we’re in the process of transferring ongoing projects across to these companies so they can continue to support their existing clients.Inevitably there would have been some cherrypicking for the most profitable projects for this process.
Whether you have any financial recourse, maybe. unlike a local authority your engagement with them is by civil contract rather than statute law, so they do not have the same degree of protection from claims of economic loss or breach of contract as a council does.
Edited by smokey mow on Thursday 24th October 16:58
t show.On a slight tangent - but only slight - maybe wait it out.
Only semi-joking.
Getting divorced, selling the family home (sh!t happens). Had some building work done in 2017, kitchen conversion, steel beam, bi-fold doors and other things.
Soon to be ex wife insisted she had the BC sign off visit and that I had lost the paperwork (‘as usual”).
I called BC. They confirmed that no sign off visit had taken place. They advised that a visit could be arranged for ca. £200.
But reading the form they sent, it said words to the effect of “you could have the work signed off, but it’s over three years ago and we won’t be taking any action”. I..e., just leave it.
Conveyancing will be interesting.
Just waiting it out may be an option for the op. Maybe not.
The wider obvious point - I wonder what’s out there, not signed off but just regarded as “it was a few years ago, it’s probably ok”.
Only semi-joking.
Getting divorced, selling the family home (sh!t happens). Had some building work done in 2017, kitchen conversion, steel beam, bi-fold doors and other things.
Soon to be ex wife insisted she had the BC sign off visit and that I had lost the paperwork (‘as usual”).
I called BC. They confirmed that no sign off visit had taken place. They advised that a visit could be arranged for ca. £200.
But reading the form they sent, it said words to the effect of “you could have the work signed off, but it’s over three years ago and we won’t be taking any action”. I..e., just leave it.
Conveyancing will be interesting.
Just waiting it out may be an option for the op. Maybe not.
The wider obvious point - I wonder what’s out there, not signed off but just regarded as “it was a few years ago, it’s probably ok”.
Edited by CloudStuff on Thursday 24th October 18:10
Edited by CloudStuff on Thursday 24th October 18:11
CloudStuff said:
On a slight tangent - but only slight - maybe wait it out.
Only semi-joking.
Getting divorced, selling the family home (sh!t happens). Had some building work done in 2017, kitchen conversion, steel beam, bi-fold doors and other things.
Soon to be ex wife insisted she had the BC sign off visit and that I had lost the paperwork (‘as usual”).
I called BC. They confirmed that no sign off visit had taken place. They advised that a visit could be arranged for ca. £200.
But reading the form they sent, it said words to the effect of “you could have the work signed off, but it’s over three years ago and we won’t be taking any action”. I..e., just leave it.
Conveyancing will be interesting.
Just waiting it out may be an option for the op. Maybe not.
The wider obvious point - I wonder what’s out there, not signed off but just regarded as “it was a few years ago, it’s probably ok”.
The law has changed since then - the enforcement period is now 10 years after completion of the works.Only semi-joking.
Getting divorced, selling the family home (sh!t happens). Had some building work done in 2017, kitchen conversion, steel beam, bi-fold doors and other things.
Soon to be ex wife insisted she had the BC sign off visit and that I had lost the paperwork (‘as usual”).
I called BC. They confirmed that no sign off visit had taken place. They advised that a visit could be arranged for ca. £200.
But reading the form they sent, it said words to the effect of “you could have the work signed off, but it’s over three years ago and we won’t be taking any action”. I..e., just leave it.
Conveyancing will be interesting.
Just waiting it out may be an option for the op. Maybe not.
The wider obvious point - I wonder what’s out there, not signed off but just regarded as “it was a few years ago, it’s probably ok”.
Edited by CloudStuff on Thursday 24th October 18:10
Edited by CloudStuff on Thursday 24th October 18:11
dmsims said:
Don't undertsand why anyone would use a non LA for BC ?
When I done lofts full time one of my local(ish) authority's was a nightmare to deal with, so if I done lofts on their patch I used private building control, for all the others I used LABC. One advantage is getting the same inspector on every job, they were also very quick to vet plans etc. On the whole LABC are better to deal with, but that’s maybe because my local are excellent.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff