Local Authority Building Completion Certificate
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The Local Authority Building Control Completion Certificate is the guarantee of thorough, independent inspections and service and is normally required after works have been carried out which would have required a notice in the first instance, such as (but not limited to) construction, demolition, provision of services, fittings or equipment, conversions etc. This is required before the property can be marketed and sold and can have bearings on the buyer obtaining finance. The completion certificate is separate to the building warranty. It would be prudent to have a satisfactory completion inspection undertaken and a completion certificate issued before you make your final payment to your builder, as there may be remedial works required. The completion certificate can be submitted by either the owner/tenant/developer who is doing the work themselves or who employed the builder to carry out the works. Submission must be completed within a very short timeframe of works being completed. Each separate dwelling covered by a warrant (in the case of multiple buildings) will require it's own unique completion certificate. The Verifier of the completion certificate (usually the Local Authority) must be satisfied that the work has been carried out in accordance with the building warrant and in the case of construction or conversion, the finished project complies with the building regulations. This is normally a 'straight-forward' procedure that seldom gets rejected, but rejection can occur for reasons of non-compliance or incorrectly/misleading submitted information with the completion certificate. The owner will be notified in the event of a rejection. It is also an offence to knowingly occupy or use a building where no completion certificate has been accepted or without regard as to whether a completion certificate has been accepted, except in the circumstance where the 'Verifier' has granted temporary occupation or use before a completion certificate has been accepted, usually restricted by a time limit. The completion certificate will be required by solicitors as part of the house sale process to prove that the work complies with the Building Regulations. If the completion inspection has not been carried out, it will be declared as an outstanding matter on any legal search carried out by a purchaser's solicitors and the certificate will not be available to potential purchasers. Thus, the sale of your property may not be possible without it. However, where a property has been sold, and there has been no notice of breach of building regulations, the 'Verifier' may make a further charge to carry out a completion inspection at a later date or the seller can arrange for a regularisation certificate or an indemnity insurance policy to cover the buyer. This route is more of a legal contingency, in the first instance, one should try to be organised to get the certificate and this should normally be done for you by good builders. |
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Page last updated: 09/02/2012 * Disclaimer: All article content is the opinion of the author and does not represent the views of RenovationFinance.co.uk. In all instances, you are advised to seek independent advice. |
