Building regulations - Your responsibilities
Meeting the requirements of the Building Regulations is the responsibility of the person carrying out the building work and, if they are not the same person, the owner of the building. The building regulations apply to most building work, therefore it is important to know when approval is needed.
Failiure to comply with the Building Regulations
If you do not follow the building control procedures set out for handling your building work or you carry out building work which does not comply with the requirements contained in the Building Regulations you will have contravened them.
The Planning Portal has more information on the implications of failing to comply with the Building Regulations.
Getting Building Work Inspected
Site inspection
When you submit your building regulation application, we will agree an inspection plan that allows us to monitor the work to ensure that building standards set in the public good have been complied with at completion.
Although it is the function of building control to monitor compliance with building regulations, primary responsibility for complying rests with the person carrying out the work and ultimately, the property owner. Building Control is not responsible for checking every item of work – we cannot, and are not, required to check every item. We carry out checks onsite at certain key stages of construction as detailed in the inspection plan and where non-compliance is identified, informal and formal action taken to address it.
Building Control is not responsible for managing every stage of the construction process on-site – that is a matter for the contract and arrangements between you and your builder. We do not fulfil the role of a ‘Clerk of Works’ as is often assumed, quite inappropriately and furthermore, have no responsibility for dealing with poor workmanship and issues of quality, unless they impact on compliance with building standards.
Please ensure that you give a copy of the inspection plan to your builder when they start work. This is available online via the Book a Site Inspection page. A sample of the Site Inspection Plan is available from the attachments section of this page.
On satisfactory completion of the work, and providing we have inspected the work identified in the inspection plan, a completion certificate will normally be issued within 5 working days.
An inspection fee is payable that relates to the actual cost of providing the inspection service and is intended to achieve full cost recovery, so that service users pay the full cost of service they receive.
In cases where we spend more time than the original charge allowed for; for example dealing with poor quality builders, inspecting sub-standard work, work that is not ready for inspection and carrying out more site visits than allocated, then additional charges may be made.
The issue of a completion certificate is conditional on payment of any outstanding building regulation charges.
The site inspection service
- We will work with you to help you achieve a building project that meets your expectations and building standards designed for the public good.
- Your building control surveyor is NOT responsible for designing your project, supervising your builder or managing every stage of the construction process. Their role is to check that minimum national building standards are met.
- The surveyor will monitor work onsite and either confirm that the work meets the required standards or request changes so it meets those standards.
- Building Control will not be responsible for compliance – that is the legal duty of the person carrying out the work.
- We are not able to address quality issues or deal with contractual issues – that is a matter for you and your builder
Book a site visit
You can book a site visit, view your inspection plan and review our involvement in the progress of your project online, 24 hrs a day, seven days a week at http://www.solihull.gov.uk/
Alternatively, call the site inspection booking line on 0121 704 6000 between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 9.00am and 6.00pm on Wednesdays.
Or in person at the Walk In Centres at:
- Solihull Connect, Ground Floor, Library Square, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3RG
- Solihull Connect at Shirley Police Station, 285 Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, B90 3AR
- Solihull Connect at The Bluebell Centre, Ground Floor West Mall, Chelmsley Wood, Solihull , B37 5TN
- Solihull Connect at Balsall Common Library, 283 Kenilworth Road, Balsall Common, West Midlands, CV7 7EL. (Thursdays 10am - 2pm only)
Archived building regulation applications
Despite the best efforts of our Building Control Surveyors, many homeowners and builders fail to ensure that all building standares (set in the interests of the wider public good) have been complied with.
With the exception of minor non-compliances that are addressed on a conditional completion certificate, you have three months from the date of the inspection to corrict any outstanding work and have it re-inspected and signed off.
After three months, the case file is archived (unless the non-compliances are so serious they warrant enforcement action) and a fee is payable to re-open it for purposes of issuing a completion certificate.
Completion Certificates.
If you are selling a property that had building work carried out, you will need building regulation approval documents and a completion certificate to prove that the work has been approved and inspected by a Building Control Body. Delays and additional costs are often incurred where a Completion Certificate is not available.
Legal entitlement to a completion certificate is subject to conditions. In cases where charges are outstanding, we are not told building work has been completed/occupied, or outstanding building regulation work has not been addressed within the agreed timescale, issue of a completion certificate will be withheld.
Payment
Please note that an inspection charge (inclusive of VAT) will be invoiced following the first visit to site. For more information on our charges, please note the appropriate fees as set out on our Building Regulations - Applying for Building Regulations approval.
Credit/Debit card payments can be made over the telephone (0121 704 8008).
Cheques should be made payable to SMBC and crossed A/C payee.
You can make payment (including cash) at any of the Solihull Connect Walk-in Centres listed above.