Cancellation (Reversion) of an Initial Notice Application
Works reverted to Haringey Building Control from Approved Inspectors
Building (Approved Inspector) Regulations 2010 - Building Act 1984
We have recently been made aware that several Approved Inspectors have been unable to secure the insurances necessary to enable them to continue to operate as an Approved Inspector.
The Approved Inspectors that currently have no insurance includes Aedis, GSA and Head Projects - but this list is not exhaustive and more Approved Inspectors insurances may expire in the future. Please check the Approved Inspectors Register on the CICAIR website (external link) for current details of insurance, as this may change daily.
The lack of insurance means these companies are no longer able to inspect any building works or issue the required statutory notices to you and the council, including any final or part final certificates. The relevant legislation states that if an Approved Inspector is unable to carry out their functions, either they or the person carrying out the works must cancel the Initial Notice lodged with a local authority. If work has already commenced on site, the work must, by law be passed back to the local authority (in this case Haringey Building Control) to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations.
- Please note: Haringey Council had no forewarning to the problems surrounding the Approved Inspectors and we are reacting to this unfortunate situation as quickly as possible
When work is ‘reverted’ to us in this way, you need to provide us with as much information as possible to help us to determine that any works undertaken to date comply with the relevant regulations. All local authorities are obliged to levy a fee for work that is reverted to them, but this fee will be individually assessed based on the size of the project and the amount of time we anticipate we will need to satisfy ourselves of compliance with the Building Regulations. Any information you have about inspections undertaken so far, including building plans, structural calculations and any photographs of the work in progress will also be of great assistance.
We have to make you aware that if we cannot ascertain compliance with particular parts of the work, we may ask for certain works to be uncovered for our inspection. It will be our aim to keep this to a minimum.
Please download, complete and return the Reversion Notice form (Word, 156KB) to make the building regulation application to Haringey Building Control. Please also complete and return a copy of the Form 7 Cancellation Notice (PDF, 580KB) under the Approved Inspector regulations, which cancels the Initial Notice submitted by the Approved Inspector.
Please complete both of these and return them to us by post or via email building.control@haringey.gov.uk, accompanied by the further information detailed above. We will then assess this and advise you of the next step in the process, along with any applicable fees.
- Postal address:
Building Control
River Park House
225 High Road
Wood Green
N22 8HQ
We appreciate this matter will be of great concern, but our aim is to assist you through the process so that you can attain the Building Regulation Completion Certificate and have building works that comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations.
Please also note that dealing with reversions from Approved Inspectors is a statutory duty of local authorities - the Approved Inspector’s ability to trade and the issue of any fees previously paid to your Approved Inspector is outside our remit or control. Complaints related to the behaviour of any Approved Inspector should be directed to the designated body - the Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR Ltd) in the first instance and to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) thereafter.
Further guidance
- Initial information needed to be provided for the Reversion Application
- Charges and Quotations
- Completion Certificates
- Electrical Installations
A Reversion Application is intended to be used in respect of the Building Regulations 2010 where an Initial Notice from an Approved Inspector has ceased to be in force and the application is to revert back to the Local Authority.
Where a Local Authority receives a Reversion Application, they may require the applicant to take such reasonable steps, including the laying open of the building work for inspection by the Authority, making tests and taking samples, as the Authority thinks appropriate to ascertain that the work, if any, is required to secure that the relevant requirements are met. If an applicant is unwilling to comply with any reasonable request they run the risk that the Local Authority will be unable to judge whether the work satisfies the applicable Regulations.
These notes are for general guidance only, particulars regarding the Reversion Application are contained in Regulation 19 of the Building (Approved Inspectors) Regulations 2010 and, in respect of fees, the current fees/charges Regulations.
The Reversion Application is without prejudice to the powers of a Local Authority under Section 35/ 36 of the Building Act 1984 or of any other statutory requirement or enactment affecting the building.
Please note it is the owner of the building and their builder‘s responsibility to comply with the Building Regulations. Persons carrying out building work or making a change of use of a building are reminded that permission may also be required under the Town and Country Planning Act, Highways Act, Housing Act, Public Health Act, etc.
Initial information needed to be provided for the Reversion Application
You must submit the following information to Haringey Building Control:
- A completed Form 7 for Cancellation of the originally submitted Initial Notice
- A completed reversion notice form
- Payment of the relevant fee
- Details of Approved Inspectors Information including Plans Certificates, visits, inspections records, actions, and outcomes
- A comprehensive technical information package for the works that may include: plans, sections, elevations, site plans, specifications, mechanical and electrical information, energy calculations, air tests, sound tests, statutory consultations, formal agreements, specialist engineers reports and calculations, third party warranties, and any commissioning certification etc
Building Control will assess the information against the requirements of the Building Regulations, carry out any consultations and communicate to you or your agent any areas that need addressing or where further information is required. Building Control will carry out the designated number of site inspections during the construction period and any other inspections deemed necessary to ensure compliance.
Charges and Quotations
A fee will be calculated on submission of the Application based on the information supplied and any evidenced Approved Inspector Inspection records, but this is without prejudice for Haringey Council to levy additional charges based on our hourly rate, should our time involved in the project exceed the standard fee applied at the time that the application was made. All of Haringey Building Control fees are based on a cost recovery basis.
All of our charges and quotations will cover the administration process, plan check (where the previous Approved Inspector has not submitted a formal Plans Certificate to Haringey Council for the previous Initial Notice), statutory consultations and the site inspection process, and the issue of an electronic completion certificate.
Completion Certificates
Haringey Building Control will endeavour to obtain as much information as possible and may have required works to be opened up to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations. We will consider the available information provided by clients and Approved Inspectors in good faith when assessing compliance, but will not take responsibility for the quality or accuracy of the information provided.
Furthermore, by virtue of the status or complexity of the project on reversion a number of elements may not have been able to be opened up for assessment and may not have been subject to intrusive inspections. These elements cannot therefore be conclusively verified as compliant. Haringey Building Control will issue an electronic completion certificate confirming that your project has been inspected and that, as far as it can be ascertained, it complies with the Building Regulations. You will need this certificate when you wish to sell your property.
Electrical Installations
Part P of the Building Regulations requires that all notifiable, domestic electrical installations are designed and installed to protect people against injury and fire.
Where these works are carried out by an Approved Installer registered under the Government’s Competent Person Scheme a Building Regulation application is not required.
Where these works are carried out by an Installer qualified to inspect and test the work by issuing a BS7671 certificate, but not registered on a Part P Competent Person Scheme, a Building Regulation application is required and an administrative fee is payable. Proof of the electrician’s qualification will be required.
Where these works are undertaken by a person who cannot issue BS7671 certification (DIY installation), a Building Regulation application is required. The Local Authority will arrange for a third party inspection and testing of the electrical installation and a fee is payable.