Environment \ The Building Control Service \ The Building Control Service

The Building Control Service

What we do

District Councils, through their Building Control Departments, have a statutory duty to apply Building Regulations. These ensure the safety and health of people in and around buildings. The regulations also protect the environment by requiring buildings to be thermally efficient, reducing energy consumption and therefore the emission of pollutants which damage the atmosphere. Regulations are also in place to deal with accessibility and are effective in improving the quality of life for people with disabilitiwes. Building Regulations and Building Control, therefore, have an important role to play in helping protect people and the environment. It should be noted that for certain categories of work you will probably have to get approval from The Planning Service under the planning legislation.

In Building Control plans of proposed work are carefully assessed to ensure compliance with the Regulations and as work progresses on site it is inspected at crucial and important stages. A number of routes can be taken when making an application to Building Control.

Full Plans route

1. The application is submitted to your local Building Control Department including,
   • Duplicate copies of plans, location map and site plan
   • Completed application form
   • Estimated cost of work (where required)
   • Appropriate fee (application is invalid if no fee enclosed)
2. Plans are assessed to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations
3. Site Inspections are carried out from commencement to completion to ensure that what is being built complies with what has been approved.

Building Notice route

In this case no plans are required, only a location map and correct fee. This applies only to domestic applications at present e.g. erection of a house, a roofspace conversion or installation of a service. More details and information is available in Building Notice Procedure.

Regularisations

This is where a Certificate of Regularisation can be given for unauthorised works already carried out, providing that they comply with the Building Regulations that were in place at the time of the works. More details and information are available in Regularisation Procedure.

Today Building Control Staff are customer orientated and offer help and guidance to industry, the professions and the public on how to comply with Building Regulations. Building Control in Northern Ireland is independent of any commercial interests. It is accountable to the councils and therefore the public. Anyone having to use the service must pay fees and the income generated means that Building Control, in that aspect of their work, is practically self sufficient.

Where plans comply, an Approval Certificate is issued and where work is satisfactorily completed a Completion Certificate is available. These are important documents in the conveyancing procedure when property is bought and sold.

Councils also make use of Building Control staff in the provision of other services such as the control of dangerous buildings and structures, the fire and structural aspects of entertainment licences, property searches, technical advice and petroleum licensing.

More information and advice can be obtained from the Building Control website at www.buildingcontrol-ni.com or by contacting Building Control at your local Council offices.

Reference Documents used in conjunction with The Northern Ireland Building Regulations can be viewed at www.dfpni.gov.uk