Standards & Guidance - Archive
Building Regulation Note
Building Regulation Note 1/1994
THE BUILDING (FORMS) (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 1991:
BUILDING WARRANTS AND CERTIFICATES OF COMPLETION
1. This note recommends the issue of separate warning notes along with each Form 5 (Building Warrant) and Form 10 (Certificate of Completion) pending formal amendment of the prescribed Forms.
2. The Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland (the Local Government Ombudsman) has warned, in his Annual Report to 31 March 1993, that house buyers should not rely on council completion certificates as a guarantee of standard of workmanship. It should be noted that this warning is relevant to all building work to which the building regulations apply and the Ombudsman is calling for local authorities to inform the public that their function under the Building Acts is a strictly limited one.
3. The Ombudsman feels it is absolutely essential for individuals to obtain proper independent professional advice, since the temptation to take short cuts and minimise costs can prove extremely expensive in the longer term. The many complaints received were linked by a common thread that each had relied on the fact that the local authority had issued a building warrant and completion certificate and believed that these provided a guarantee of standard of workmanship.
4. The Scottish Office (now Scottish Executive) recommends that, until such time as Forms 5 and 10 of The Building (Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 1991 can be amended, local authority building control departments should make arrangements to issue with each building warrant and certificate of completion, separate warning notes on the following lines:
4.1 SEPARATE NOTE TO ACCOMPANY BUILDING WARRANT
(FORM 5)
This should include the following warning:
"WARNING
THE ISSUE OF A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION (SEE NOTE 3 OF THE BUILDING WARRANT) IS NO GUARANTEE OF STANDARD OF WORKMANSHIP. APPLICANTS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO ENGAGE THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS AT ALL STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION."
4.2 SEPARATE NOTE TO ACCOMPANY CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
(FORM 10)
This should include the following warnings:
"WARNING
1. THE ISSUE OF THE ACCOMPANYING CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION IS NO GUARANTEE OF STANDARD OF WORKMANSHIP.
2. THE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION IS AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT AND SHOULD BE KEPT IN A SAFE PLACE."
5. Advice obtained from The Scottish Office (now Scottish Executive) Solicitors was that the addition of these warnings to the forms themselves can be achieved only through amendment of the Forms Regulations.
6. The content of this Note have been considered and agreed by the Building Control Forum and the Local Government Ombudsman.
The Scottish Office Environment Department
(now Scottish Executive Development Department)
Building Control Division
April 1994
