Local authority control and private certification

Local authorities have exercised control in some form over buildings in England and Wales since 1189; however, it was not until 1965 that uniform national Building Regulations applied throughout the country. For the purposes of the Building Regulations, the 'local authority' is the District Council, the London Borough Councils, the Common Council of the City of London, the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple, the Under Treasurer of the Inner Temple, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly, as appropriate.

The Building Regulations 1991 introduced a number of substantive changes to the local authority system. Part IV of these Regulations, as amended, contains procedural requirements that must be observed where a person proposes to undertake building work covered by the Regulations and opts for local authority control.

In December 1979 the then secretary of state for the environment, Michael Heseltine, in a speech to the National House Building Council (NHBC), signalled the government's intention to radically review the building control system in England and Wales. He set out the following criteria for the new system. It should:

• provide maximum self-regulation;
• have minimum government interference;
• be self-funding; and
• be simple to operate.

One of the government's main aims was to provide an opportunity for regulation by the construction industry through a scheme of private certification. Under the new system, an increasing volume of building work would be dealt with by 'approved inspectors' rather than local authorities.

The private certification scheme now in operation is based on the proposals set out in a government white paper, The Future of Building Control in England and Wales published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). It took some time for the private certification system to become fully operational, even after the first approved inspector, the NHBC, was approved on 11 November 1985. Until January 1997 the system was confined to house-builders under the NHBC scheme. However, it is now possible to use an approved inspector for any class of building work.

There are 2 types of approved inspectors:

• corporate bodies, such as the NHBC or Aedis; and
• individuals (rather than firms).

An approved inspector cannot supervise work in which he or she has a professional or financial interest, unless it is 'minor work'.

Public bodies, such as nationalised industries, are able to supervise their own building work by following a special procedure, detailed in the Regulations.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the single designated body for the approval of both non-corporate approved inspectors and corporate inspectors. The process of administration of approval and monitoring of approved inspectors is now carried out by a wholly owned subsidiary, the Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR), with its own board of directors and governance arrangements.

See the following pages for a discussion of the precise systems in operation under local authority control and approved inspector control. For a user-friendly explanation of the 2 routes, the charges and fees payable, and the approvals granted, see the FAQs.