The applicant has the lead role in ensuring the success of the construction project. Their responsibilities include:
1. Engaging Competent Professionals
The applicant should engage suitably competent designers and contractors.
2. Timely Application
The applicant must lodge a Building Control application in good time, before the commencement of work, or ensure that their agent does so.
3. Notifications of key stages of work
Unless a client has delegated this responsibility to the builder or someone else who is managing the build on their behalf, they need to give timely notification to Building Control prior to commencement and at other key stages of the work.
4. Supervision of construction
Unless they are taking on this role themselves, the applicant should engage a competent person to supervise the construction process on their behalf. While Building Control Surveyors carry out site inspections as part of their regulatory role, these limited inspections cannot guarantee that all the statutory requirements set out in Building Regulations are met and are not intended to replace competent site supervision. It is essential that someone with a good understanding of the client's wishes supervises the work to ensure that client expectations are met and that all regulatory requirements are complied with.
5. Ensuring work complies with the Building Regulations
This is ultimately the responsibility of the applicant, and where work is found to be in breach of Building Regulations, the applicant will need to ensure that any defects are remedied and the work is brought back into compliance. Where Building Control becomes aware of work that does not comply with the Building Regulations, they will endeavour to engage with the person responsible for the work, usually the contractor in the first place, with the aim of having any defects or deficiencies addressed. Building Control follows a proportionate enforcement regime with the aim of issuing a Completion Certificate on satisfactory execution of the work. Where serious contraventions are not dealt with appropriately, the applicant, as well as the contractor, may be subject to enforcement procedures.
