The Act is just one of the many changes in the construction industry designed to create a safer built environment following the horrors of the Grenfell tragedy. The legislation came into force at the start of October 2023. Firstly, under the new definitions, the client is the person responsible for commissioning the building work. Here is a simple summary of what you should be aware of:
The Act puts three main roles into place for all building works, the Client, the Principal Designer (PD, for domestic projects normally the Architect originally commissioned to do the work) and Principal Contractor (PC, normally the main contractor appointed to undertake the building works). It is a legal requirement that all three roles are filled throughout the entire project and Building Control be informed should the person undertaking the role change.
The Client.
The Client’s main role is to ensure that they appoint the PD and PC at the appropriate stages and to allow them enough time and resources to adequately undertake their roles. They are also responsible for informing Building Control of any changes to these appointments. On a domestic scheme, it is expected that the Principal Designer will assist with this and provide support where necessary.
The Principal Designer.
The Principal Designer will be in control of the pre-construction information and must satisfy themselves that all designers working on the scheme have the relevant knowledge and experience for their respective roles. The PD will pass all relevant information onto the Building Control body for review prior to the construction phase, and then onto the Principle Contractor for the tender process prior to work starting on-site.
The Principal Contractor.
Once work begins on-site, control of the scheme in general will pass onto the Principle Contractor for them to manage, however the PD role must be maintained throughout the scheme so that they can provide advice and updated information where necessary and review the work as it is being completed to ensure that it has been done in accordance with the issued information. The PD role can be undertaken by the Client or the Principle Contractor during the construction phase. However, Dutyholders are required to ensure they have competence (the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and behaviour) to carry out the design and building work they are engaged to do. If this is the case the Building Control body must be informed of the new duty holder so that that person can be contacted if any issues are encountered.
The Principal Contractor must satisfy themselves that all subcontractors and specialists working on the scheme have the relevant knowledge and experience. The Principle Contractor must follow the information within the approved drawings. Where this is not possible due to site conditions, cost considerations or other reasons, they must notify the PD that changes are required and provide them with enough information to allow them to review and update as necessary.
Signed Declaration.
At the end of the scheme, all three parties must produce a signed declaration that ‘to the best of their knowledge’ all works have been undertaken as per the approved drawings. Building Control will not undertake a final inspection or issue the final certificate if this is not done, so the above process is critical and needs to be followed throughout the project.
Summary.
In practice, the requirement under this new legislation is that you, the Client, have somebody who will take responsibility for the design throughout the scheme and be ready to confirm that the scheme has been constructed in accordance with that design at the end of the work. In the past, often for smaller domestic projects the architect may not have been involved during the construction phase, or only on an informal basis, with the final sign-off provided by Building Control. The role under the new legislation requires the PD visits to be undertaken at regular points throughout the scheme, normally at the major points of construction (Foundations, steelwork, insulation, roof etc.). These visits are separate to the inspections carried out by building control, and should be budgeted for by Clients. Failure to facilitate these visits means that you are not fulfilling your duty as client and that Building Control may not issue a final certificate. That being said, how the processes are manifesting on domestic projects are still evolving, and we will continue to review requirements as they take shape during the Building Control procedure.
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