Building Control
The Building Regulations 1999 set standards to ensure health, safety, sustainability, and compliance in building work, with inspections and approvals carried out to protect the public interest.
The Building Regulations 1999 is intended to ensure that building work on both new and existing buildings results in buildings that meet reasonable standards. The standards are set out in the building regulations, which intend to:
- secure the health, safety, welfare and convenience of persons in or about buildings and of others who may be affected by buildings or matters connected with buildings;
- further the conservation of fuel and power; and
- further the achievement of sustainable development.
The purpose is to protect the public interest. It is not intended to provide protection to a client in a contract with a builder. The building control system sets out the standards to be met when building work, to the extent necessary to meet the building regulations.
The system is pre-emptive, designed to check that the proposed building work meets the standards. Inspections during construction and on completion are to protect the public interest in terms of compliance with the building regulations and to discourage avoidance of the legislation.
The Building Advisor will undertake assessment and approval of building permit applications, inspection of work on site and consideration of occupation certificate submissions when work is complete. The inspections do not provide a system to control work onsite. That is a matter for the contracts and arrangements put in place between the client and builder.