What about enforcement?

Councils have powers of enforcement separate from the Regularisation Application process. You should not assume that applying for a Regularisation Certificate will make you safe from enforcement, although this is unlikely where you gain a Regularisation Certificate.

Who enforces the Building Regulations?

The Building Control Surveyor checks the plans for compliance with the Building Regulations and carries out inspections of work on site as it progresses. Formal enforcement is carried out by the Local Authority through the Courts on the evidence of the Building Control Surveyor. However, the emphasis of the service is about working together with applicants to help achieve practical solutions, whilst meeting the aspirations of the designer.

What do I do now?

To obtain a Regularisation Certificate for work that has already been carried out, our on-line form   should be completed. The Application for a Regularisation Certificate box should be ticked at the top of the form and the remainder completed and accompanied by the correct payment. Please contact us  for help.

The application must describe the extent of the unauthorised work and include any supporting technical information that is available, including where possible a plan of the work.

You should highlight any additional work you intend to carry out to secure compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations.

Please contact us to arrange an inspection of the work on site, this will ascertain whether the work complied with the Building Regulations that were in force at the time of construction. We may ask for certain parts of the work to be opened up for inspection i.e. foundations, joists or beams, this may require further alterations to be carried out before the Regularisation Certificate can be issued.

We may also need further evidence to prove compliance, this may include structural calculations or technical details from a product manufacturer. Unless we are satisfied that the work was carried out in compliance with the Building Regulations, the Regularisation Certificate will not be issued.

Please note, the Regularisation Charge will not be refunded, as the Charge is payable for the inspection of the site works, and not for the issuing of the Regularisation Certificate. This process does not remove our powers to take enforcement action should we find it necessary to ensure your safety.

Once the building work is deemed to be in accordance with the Building Regulations, we will issue a Regularisation Certificate. This certificate may be used when selling the property to show that the work complies with the Building Regulations.

This offers an important safeguard for the owner or potential buyer of the property.