Building control
Building control
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When building a new home, the builder is responsible for complying with the relevant Building Regulations and associated legislation in place at the time plot/s are built.
Building Regulations are defined by the government and set minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings to make sure that a property is safe and comfortable to live in. They make sure that facilities are provided for people, including those with disabilities, to access and move around inside buildings. Building Control is a mandatory requirement to manage this process.
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Building control bodies are responsible for independently checking that builders and designers undertake their responsibility as dutyholders to carry out building work in compliance with the Building Regulations that have been defined by the government.
There are three separate bodies who are responsible for ensuring compliance with Building Regulations: Local Authorities, who have building control departments, Registered Building Control Approvers, who are private sector organisations that carry out building control work in England and Wales and, in England only, the Building Safety Regulator who provide building control for High Risk Buildings (HRB) which are buildings that have a floor over 18m or are seven storeys or over and which contain at least two residential units or are a hospital or care home.
When deciding to build a new home which is not a HRB, a builder can choose between Local Authority Building Control or a Registered Building Control Approver to carry out the building control work. As of 1 October 2023, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the only building control authority for HRB in England meaning that builders cannot choose either Local Authority Building Control or Registered Building Control Approvers on such buildings. In Wales, the Local Authorities remain the regulatory authority for HRBs and the definition of an HRB is slightly different. The BSR, delegated by Welsh Ministers, is responsible for registering and licensing building control approvers and inspectors in Wales.
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NHBC Building Control Services is an Registered Building Control Approver authorised to carry out building control services across England and Wales. Registered Building Control Approvers are required to adhere to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) Operational Standards Rules for Registered Building Control Approvers and follow the Professional Conduct Rules for Registered Building Control Approvers in their working practices.
Further information about the role of Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and the Operational Standards Rules can be found here.
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If NHBC Building Control Services was responsible for building control at your property, this information will be specifically detailed on your Buildmark Insurance Certificate. You can also contact our Customer Services team. Please email ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk quoting your name, address and postcode. If you would prefer to talk to us, please call 0800 035 6422.
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Yes. An NHBC registered builder can purchase an NHBC warranty but choose to employ a different body to carry out building control services on a property.
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We carry out inspections at certain stages during the construction process to assess our risk, and to help satisfy ourselves that we can offer our 10-year NHBC Buildmark warranty on the property. These inspections are in addition to and do not replace those that will be carried out by your builder’s chosen building control body.
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If NHBC Building Control Services is responsible for building control services at your property, any plans or drawings that were submitted to NHBC by your builder were for the purpose of undertaking that function. The copyright for these plans belongs to the builder and not to NHBC. For these reasons, NHBC does not provide a service releasing those plans. You should instead contact your builder directly.
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We are sorry to hear that you have cause to complain. Details about how we manage complaints about NHBC Building Control Services can be found here.
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Building control bodies support the dutyholders (The Client, Designer and The Contractor/Builder) in undertaking their legal responsibilities to build in accordance with the Building Regulations. Building Control bodies do this by providing an independent third-party check of the work against the requirements of the applicable building regulations. This is undertaken through a combination of checking plans and visual inspections at key stages during the course of construction.
Risk assessment is used to support this process as Building Control cannot be on site throughout the build process, so do not see every element of the construction. Inspections are non-intrusive and visual only, as such, it is not always possible to guarantee that construction is free from defects. Inspections do not remove the builder’s responsibility to make sure that construction is in accordance with the Building Regulations.
Building Control bodies cannot provide ‘design advice’ and are restricted to making observations on non-compliances with Building Regulations. Please see below for more details of NHBC’s Building Control service.