The Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke, in relation to England, the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2215) (“the AI Regulations”) with the amendments to those Regulations made by S.I. 2015/767, 2016/285, 2021/1391, 2021/1392, 2022/718 and 2023/906. They also revoke and include in this instrument provisions relating to the registration and review in regulations 3 to 5 of the Building (Approved Inspectors, Review of Decisions) (England) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/906).

Section 47 of the Building Act 1984 (c. 55) (“the 1984 Act”) provides that the responsibility for inspecting plans and building work for compliance with building regulations may, at the option of the person intending to carry out the work, be given to a registered building control approver (“approver”) instead of to the local authority.

Part 2 of these Regulations makes provision about the supervision of building work by approvers, including the independence of approvers, their functions and how provisions of the Building Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/2214) are modified in their application to approvers.

Regulation 3 derives from regulation 9 of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 4 derives from regulation 8 of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 5 derives from regulation 20 of the AI Regulations.

Part 3 of these Regulations makes provision in relation to procedural requirements, including the forms to be used for initial notices, amendment notices, plans certificates and final certificates, the grounds for rejecting these notices and certificates, the period for rejecting them, consultation requirements.

Regulation 6 and forms 1 and 6 derive from regulation 10 of, and forms 1 and 5A in Schedule 1 to, the AI Regulations. Schedule 2 derives from Schedule 2 to the AI Regulations.

Regulation 7 derives from regulation 10A of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 8 and form 2 derive from regulation 11 of, and form 2 in Schedule 1 to, the AI Regulations.

Regulation 9 derives from regulation 12 of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 10 derives from regulation 13 of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 11 and forms 3 and 4 derive from regulation 14 of, and forms 3 and 4 in Schedule 1 to, the AI Regulations. Schedule 3 derives from Schedule 3 to the AI Regulations.

Regulation 12 derives from regulation 15 of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 13 and form 5 derive from regulation 16 of, and form 5 in Schedule 1 to, the AI Regulations. Schedule 4 derives from Schedule 4 to the AI Regulations.

Regulation 14 and form 7 derive from regulation 16A of, and form 5B in Schedule 1 to, the AI Regulations.

Regulation 15 derives from regulation 16B of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 16 derives from regulation 16C of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 17 derives from regulation 16D of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 18 derives from regulation 16E of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 19 derives from regulation 17 of the AI Regulations.

Regulations 20 and 21 and forms 8 to 10 and 12 to 14 derive from regulation 18 and forms 6, 7, 8, 8A, 8B, 8C in Schedule 1 to, the AI Regulations. Regulation 20 provides for new form 11 which is the form of notice a local authority must give under section 52(7) of the 1984 Act; new forms 15, 16 and 17 which are the notices to be used to cancel an initial notice where a plans certificate is required and has not been given; new forms 18 and 19 which are the notices to be used to cancel an initial notice under section 53D(2) and (3) of the 1984 Act.

Part 4 of these Regulations sets out the procedures where building work reverts to a local authority on an initial notice ceasing to be in force.

Regulation 22 derives from regulation 19 of the AI Regulations.

Part 5 of these Regulations makes new provision for where an initial notice ceases to be in force and a new registered building control approver is appointed. In particular regulation 25 makes provision as to the content of a transfer certificate and regulation 26 and Schedule 5 set out the grounds for rejecting a transfer certificate and transfer report.

Part 6 of these Regulations sets out provisions relating to appeals under sections 50 and 55 of the 1984 Act.

Regulation 28 derives from regulation 29A of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 29 derives from regulation 29B of the AI Regulations.

Part 7 of these Regulations provides in regulation 30 for the content of local registers of notices and certificates, regulation 31 provides for the length of registration periods for registered building control approvers and registered building inspectors, regulation 32 sets out new provision as to when copies of disciplinary sanctions issued against approvers must be sent to local authorities in England and regulations 33 and 34 makes provisions as to the decisions in Part 2A which may be reviewed and the right of appeal and procedure for an appeal following a review.

Regulation 30 derives from regulation 30 of the AI Regulations.

Regulation 31 derives from regulation 3 of S.I. 2023/906.

Regulation 33 derives from regulation 4 of S.I. 2023/906.

Regulation 34 derives from regulation 5 of S.I. 2023/906.

Part 8 of these Regulations contains miscellaneous provisions including a number of consequential amendments to other instruments, the revocations mentioned above and transitional provisions relating to those revocations.

Regulation 35 derives from regulation 31 of the AI Regulations.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs to business is published with an Explanatory Memorandum alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.