compliance Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Isabel Barros Architects

If you are planning to sell your house you will soon realise there are a number of legal documents that are required to complete the sale. Some documents you probably never heard about and others you may have overlooked until today.

We are seeing more and more solicitors undergoing a strict assessment regarding the required documentation and they are likely to recommend their clients to move away from the purchase if the documents are not in order.

These are the typical issues that may cause you enough headache:

1 – Your house does not comply with the grant of Planning Permission, or you have carried out work (ie.: an extension) that does not qualify as “Exempted Development“.

2 – You do not have an Opinion on Compliance with Planning Permission.

3 – You do not have an Opinion on Compliance with Building Regulations.

The solution:

1 – Any house built in Ireland after the 1st October 1964 requires planning permission. You should apply for Retention of the unauthorized development as soon as possible. Arrange for your Architect to visit the house, do a survey and prepare the Planning Application. The length of time it takes to get planning permission is affected by the completeness of the application and by whether or not there is an appeal. Generally, a valid application will be dealt with by a planning authority within 12 weeks, from the date the application is made to the final granting of permission.

It is very important to ensure the planning permission is in order before the proposed sale. Otherwise the potential purchaser may pull out of the transaction at a very late stage, when s/he discovers the problem.

You can also find the Planning Applications Fees for Co. Wexford here.

2 and 3 -Opinions on Compliance are important legal document that certify the building is in accordance with the planning permission granted and Building Regulations. They represent an essential element of conveyancing documentation and as such Architects adopt a significant liability in relation to the opinion they give.

RIAI Architects are advised to use the standard forms prepared by RIAI. You should ask your Architect to prepare these documents but please note that RIAI advises their members to exercise extreme caution and avoid offering opinions on Building Regulations when they were not the original Architect for the building or development.

Please contact us today if you need us to help you with any of the issues above.

The newly amended Building Control Regulations will come into operation on 1 March 2014.

These new Regulations will introduce strict new measures for the control of building projects with a view to prevent the future re-occurrence of poorly constructed dwellings.

In summary, the new Building Control Amendment Regulations require:

Submission of compliance drawings and documentation to local building control authorities;

Setting out and executing an inspection plan by the Assigned Certifier;

Signing of mandatory certificates of compliance by the designer prior to construction and by the Assigned Certifier and the Builder when a building is complete.

There is a lot more paperwork, inspection, certification, control and responsibilities than before. Clients shall be prepared to incur additional expenses to cover the above services (read BREGs Forum article with indicative costs).

All duty holders (clients, designers, contractors, etc) will have their own obligations. This article focus on the Clients' Responsibilities.

These responsibilities will only apply to you if you are undertaking the following works:

the design and construction of a new dwelling,

an extension to a dwelling involving a total floor area greater than 40 square metres,

works to which Part III applies (works where a fire safety certificate is required).

Key Responsibility

There is an obligation under section 3(5) of the Building Control Act 1990 that buildings and building works are designed and constructed in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations. Building Owners, Designers and Builders must adhere to this legal requirement. In undertaking building works, appropriate measures shall be taken so that the work is in accordance with the Building Regulations. Designers, Builders and certifiers should exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence in the exercise of their duties. They and persons assigned by them should be competent for the work they undertake.

Clients' Responsibilities

The Client/Building owner is ultimately responsible for ensuring that buildings and building works are carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Building Regulations.

The Clients/Building owners should ensure:

they appoint competent Designers;
they appoint a competent Assigned Certifier from the three registered professions (ie. Registered Architects);
they appoint a competent builder.

The above will ensure that adequate resources and Competent Persons are made available to design, construct, certify and inspect the building works.

Assigned Certifier

The Assigned Certifier is the person assigned by the Client/Building Owner as is required under the Building Control Regulations. They undertake to inspect, and to co-ordinate the inspection activity of others during construction, and to certify the building or works on completion. The role of Assigned Certifier does not include responsibility for the supervision of any builder. They may or may not be a member of the design team.

Competent Person

A person is deemed to be a competent person where, having regard to the task he or she is required to perform and taking account of the size and/or complexity of the project, the person possesses sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken;

Who can sign as the Design Certifier and/or as the Assigned Certifier?

The following may be appointed and sign as the Assigned Certifier, provided they are competent in relation to the particular works involved: