People who’ve had building work done on their home are being advised to have the work checked and signed-off by the Council’s Building Control experts.
A wide range of home improvements, including extensions, loft conversions, structural alterations and new windows are covered by the building regulations.
The regulations are designed to ensure that the building work is safe, but also cover fuel and energy efficiency and accessibility. People who have building work signed off by the Council’s Building Control specialists have peace of mind that it has been built safely and from the right materials, meets the right fire safety standards, and won’t cause any safety or health problems.
They also know that there won’t be any problems when they make insurance claims or come to sell their home. Insurance companies normally check for building regulations approval when a claim is made. Claims can be refused if building work hasn’t been carried out to the right standards. In some circumstances, such as a house fire, this could be extremely costly.
When homes are sold, the buyer’s solicitor will check that building work has the necessary building regulations paperwork. If it doesn’t, the sale may be delayed, or the price offered for the house may be dropped. The paperwork is also often requested by banks if you want to remortgage.
Philip Mansfield, Building Control Manager at the Council, said, “We can help people who are currently planning building work, and those who’ve already had work finished. Please get in touch for help and advice. The Council’s Building Control section has received overall excellent feedback from its customers this year and we have helped over 60 applicants so far with retrospective applications when they realised that work they’d completed required building regulation approval.”
One homeowner who lives in Southdown, Bath commented, “Staff on the phone were very helpful and arranged a visit promptly. Building Inspector who came to the house was polite, professional and gave good advice. It was a 5 star service.”
For more information about building regulations, see www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/building-control
To contact the Council’s building control team please telephone 01225 477517or email [email protected]
