‘Building control’ is the term used to describe the process of checking if your project complies with current legal building regulations.
Building regulations are a set of standards issued by the Government that any new buildings and alterations to existing buildings must comply with. These regulations ensure the health and safety of people using the buildings, ensure suitable access and facilities, and promote sustainable development. Building regulations are not the same as planning permission.
Most building projects will need to comply with building regulations: they can apply even when planning permission is not required. Some smaller projects may be exempt. Always seek advice to ensure you are compliant with current legal requirements.
A building control ‘initial notice’ is a formal document submitted by a client and a private approved inspector to a local authority, stating that the inspector will be responsible for building control functions for a specific project. The notice is a way for you to use private building control services, such as OWL BCS, instead of the local authority’s services.
When you work with us and the initial notice has been accepted by the local authority, we will take over the responsibility of plan checking and site inspections to ensure the work complies with building regulations.
Final and completion certificates are the same thing. You will be issued with one after the final completion inspection and when our surveyor is happy the work complies with building regulations.
Please request a quote using the link at the top of the website. We’ll then send you a form to complete along with our quote. When we receive the completed form from you, we’ll sign an ‘Initial notice’ from you and submit that to the relevant local authority.
If your fee is over £850, your first invoice will be sent once the Initial Notice has been sent. Your second invoice will be issued once you have had your first inspection.
Payments can be made via the secure link that will be sent, via phone call or BACS.
1st Invoice- Registration, submission of Initial Notice and Design Review
2nd Invoice- Starting of Works and Site Inspections
When we work with you, you must have officially appointed us to work on the project and the initial notice must have been submitted before work starts on site. Then please ensure you notify us of the date you plan to start work at least two days before work starts on site.
The ‘start date’ is the day you start on the permanent works (this doesn’t include demolition).
For new buildings or horizontal extensions, the ‘commencement date’ is considered to be when the subsurface structure of the building or the extension (including all foundations, basements levels, if any, and the structure of the ground floor level) is completed.
For other building work (e.g. loft conversions, internal alterations), work is regarded as commenced when 15% of the work is completed.
Please notify us not more than five days after the day on which the work is to be regarded as commenced.
Please update us on the progress of your project at least once every 28 days. This ensures that we have all the relevant information regarding your project and enables us to arrange the necessary inspections to view the project on site as it progresses.
You can update us via phone, email or an inspection (if you have reached one of the stages listed in your ‘Inspection and Intervention Plan’). If we don’t hear from you for 28 days we will get in touch via email for an update.
At the start of the project, we will send you an ‘Inspection and Intervention Plan (IIP)’ which outlines the key stages of the project that we will need to inspect. Every time you reach one of these stages, please contact us to book an inspection.
If we are formally appointed to work on your project, you can book an inspection with one of our surveyors by calling our office.
Please ensure you (or your contractor) contact us to request a final inspection. We may also request additional certificates before the work can be signed off: for example electrical and gas certificates.
If you occupy a building which is non-compliant for more than eight weeks, the local authority may deem the initial notice invalid. In these cases, please contact us as soon as possible so we can request an ‘extension of time’ to ensure you have longer to complete the work.