Appoint an Approved Inspector for Your Building Project
If you are planning to carry out building work as defined in regulation 3 of the Building Regulations, it must comply with the Building Regulations. The role of checking this falls to a building control body – either a privately-appointed Approved Inspector or a Local Authority.
The person carrying out the work, usually the building owner, must make an application to one of these bodies in order to engage the building control service.
About CICAIR
The Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR) is the body designated by the Secretary of State in England and Welsh Ministers in Wales to maintain and operate the construction industry council approved inspectors register.
CICAIR Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the approval process it operates provides applicants with a route to registration as an Approved Inspector.
About Approved Inspectors
Approved inspectors can be individuals or organisations that are registered with CICAIR and must themselves be re-approved every five years. Approved Inspectors are the only Building Control Bodies to be approved, independently monitored and regulated by CICAIR under the Building Act 1984 to carry out building control work in England and Wales.
Approved Inspectors registered with CICAIR Ltd are qualified to undertake building control work in accordance with Part II of the Building Act 1984 and the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010. Approved Inspectors employ competent, qualified and experienced building control professionals who can help developers, designers, contractors and building owners achieve Building Regulations compliance on most construction projects.
The CICAIR application and assessment procedures were developed over the course of several years and involved the collaboration of experts drawn from across the membership of CIC and the then Department of the Environment.
Appointing an Approved Inspector
To begin the building control process, the Approved Inspector will need to obtain written authorisation from the owner of the building or, in the case of volume housing, the builder or developer, that they have permission to act as the building control body on the project.
If the client decides to appoint an approved inspector, they and the approved inspector must jointly notify the local authority of the intended building project by submitting an 'initial notice'. The local authority will then place responsibility for building regulations verification on the approved inspector.
An Approved Inspector will:
- Advise you on how the Building Regulations apply to your work
- Submit an Initial Notice to the local authority
- Check your plans (if available)
- Issue a Plans Certificate (if requested)
- Consult with the fire and water authorities (if required)
- Inspect the work as it progresses
- Issue a Final Certificate (if the Approved Inspector considers that the work is in compliance with the Building Regulations)
What is a Plans Certificate?
A plans certificate can be used to demonstrate that detailed plans of the work or a part of it comply with the Building Regulations. A plans certificate can provide protection if the initial notice is cancelled or ceases to be valid and no new initial notice is given or accepted.
Plans certificates are described in Regulations 14 and 15 of the Approved Inspectors Regulations and Section 50 of the Building Act. The person proposing the building work can ask the approved inspector to supply a plans certificate. If the approved inspector is satisfied with the plans, they must give a plans certificate to both of the following parties: a. the person proposing the building work and b. the local authority. The approved inspector can give the plans certificate with the initial notice or later.
What is a Completion Certificate?
When the building is completed to the satisfaction of the inspector, a Completion Certificate will be issued. The relevant certificates vary from one project to another but usually include:
- Electrical safety
- SAP rating
- Air pressure test
- Boiler installation and hot water services
- Water efficiency calculations
- Security
- Fuel storage
- Remediation of contaminated land
- Chimneys and open flued appliances.
CICAIR official website. https://www.cicair.org.uk/