Approved Inspector Complaints

Approved Inspectors are required to have a formal complaints procedure by the Building Control Performance Standards published by the Communities & Local Government, CLG.

The basic elements of the procedure are:

Complaints procedure.

If a person is dissatisfied with the Building Control service they receive they should be able to complain to the provider in a manner that can be independently audited.

Approved Inspectors should, as normal practice, draw their clients’ attention to their complaints procedure. Dissatisfied clients are encouraged to exhaust their Approved Inspector's complaints procedure before raising the matter with CIC.

If a satisfactory outcome is not achieved a formal complaint about the conduct of an Approved Inspector can be made to the Registrar at the CIC, using the Complaints Form, either by post or electronically. The Registrar will follow the procedure set out in Section 3 of the Approved Inspectors Code of Conduct.

Building Control

Building Control is the process of checking whenever building work is done, which is covered by the regulations that work complies with the Building Regulations. Often non technical people do not fully understand what the Building Regulations and Building Control cover. More information is available through the Planning Portal.

A number of inspections are usually carried out during the building work. These are usually, but not necessarily, at specific stages, such as foundations, damp proof course and on completion.

These inspections are carried out to check, but not to guarantee, that the work complies with the Building Regulations and that the building is safe. They are not to provide quality control of the building work.

The builder carries prime responsibility for compliance with the Building Regulations and the quality of his finished product.

Building Regulations Explanatory Booklet

The Building Regulations Explanatory Booklet is available from the CLG website. The booklet was last fully revised in May 2004, with a minor amendment in February 2005 to include the new Part P, on Electrical safety. It provides an introduction to the Building Regulations in England and Wales . The booklet is intended to assist anyone proposing to carry out building projects to understand the system, it is not a statement of the law.

For more information about building regulations you can visit the CLG’s website.