Cancellation notices, transfers and reversions guidance

Guidance about how local authorities, registered building control approvers (“RBCAs”), and persons carrying out building work in Wales may act regarding the cancellation of initial notices in different circumstances, where building work might revert to a local authority or where another RBCA may be appointed by the person carrying out the work after the initial notice of the original RBCA has been cancelled.

Under section 58A of the Building Act 1984, the Welsh Ministers are the “regulatory authority” for the purposes of regulating the building control profession in Wales. However, the Welsh Ministers have designated certain functions to the Building Safety Regulator (see circular WGC 001/2024 for more details). This includes functions relating to RBCAs, which encompasses registration provisions, investigation, prosecution of offences and sanctions such as suspension or deregistration. Therefore, the Building Safety Regulator is referred to throughout this guidance as they will act on behalf of the Welsh Ministers in most cases.

What is a cancellation notice?

A cancellation notice is a notice issued under section 52 of the Building Act 1984, section 52A of the Building Act 1984 or section 53D of the Building Act 1984 and cancels an initial notice that is in force relating to a particular building project. The cancellation of the initial notice is the process by which an RBCA ceases to carry out their functions with respect to any of the work in a building project.

A cancellation notice must be issued according to the appropriate prescribed form in regulation 15 and Schedule 1 of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 depending on which power the cancellation notice is being issued under.

When must a cancellation notice be issued for an initial notice relating to non-higher risk building work?

Under section 52 of the Building Act 1984, a cancellation notice must be issued by the following persons where the following circumstances are met:

An RBCA must issue a cancellation notice:

• When an RBCA becomes, or expects to become, unable to carry out (or to continue to carry out) their functions with respect to any of the work covered by the initial notice. For example, they are likely to go out of business and know they will not be able to carry out their functions for the life of the project.
• Where an RBCA is of the opinion that the work is being carried out in such a way that they are unable to adequately carry out their functions. For example, that they are not being provided with sufficient information or opportunity to inspect works by a developer to determine whether there are contraventions of the building regulations.
• Where an RBCA is of the opinion that there are contraventions of any applicable provisions of the building regulations, they have given notice of the contravention of the relevant building regulations to the person carrying out the work (including the location of the contravention) and the person has not taken the prescribed steps to rectify the contraventions within 3 months (set out in regulation 16 of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024).
• Where an RBCA is given a disciplinary order by the Building Safety Regulator on behalf of the Welsh Ministers that means they are unable to carry out their functions for the work in the initial notice.
• Where it appears to an RBCA that some or all of the work described in an initial notice has become higher-risk building work.

The person carrying out the work (e.g. the developer / contractor / client) must issue a cancellation notice:

• Where it appears to the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work that the RBCA is no longer willing or able to carry out their functions with respect to any of that work. As well as the local authority, they must also send a copy of the cancellation notice to the RBCA if it is practicable to do so. For example, a person may be unhappy with the service they are receiving from their RBCA and may wish to switch providers, if their original RBCA is unresponsive to their contact, the person may conclude that the requirements of this section have been met and issue a cancellation notice.
• Where it appears to the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work that some or all of the work described in an initial notice has become higher-risk building work (and a cancellation notice was not issued by an RBCA already).

A local authority must cancel an initial notice:

• Where an RBCA is given a relevant disciplinary order or has had their registration cancelled (described in section 52(5B) of the Building Act 1984) the local authority must cancel the initial notice by giving the prescribed form (described in regulation 15 of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 to the person shown in the initial notice as the RBCA (i.e. even if their registration is cancelled) and the person shown in the initial notice as the person intending to carry out the work.
• As both the RBCA and the person carrying out the work are also under an obligation to issue cancellation notices in similar circumstances, a local authority must give the person shown in the initial notice as the RBCA a notice period of at least 7 days before the day on which the initial notice is to be cancelled and they must have regard to any representations made to the them during that period (unless the cancellation is due to the RBCA having their registration cancelled, see below for more details).
• Where it appears to the local authority that some or all of the work described in an initial notice has become higher-risk building work, and a cancellation notice has not already been issued by the RBCA or the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work.

When must a cancellation notice be issued when work in an initial notice becomes higher-risk building work?

Where it appears to an RBCA that some or all of the work described in an initial notice has become higher-risk building work, section 52A(1) of the Building Act 1984 sets out that a cancellation notice should be issued by the RBCA and the relevant prescribed form given to the relevant local authority concerned and the person carrying out or intending to carry out the work. The prescribed form is Form 13(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

Where it appears to a person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work that some or all of the work described in an initial notice has become higher-risk building work (and the above steps have not been taken by an RBCA), section 52A(2) of the Building Act 1984 sets out that a cancellation notice should be issued by the person carrying out the work and the relevant prescribed form given to the relevant local authority concerned and the RBCA. The prescribed form is Form 14(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

Where it appears to a local authority that some or all of the work described in an initial notice has become higher-risk building work (and the above steps were not taken by an RBCA or the person carrying out the work already), section 52A(4) of the Building Act 1984 sets out that a cancellation notice should be issued by the local authority and the relevant prescribed form given to the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work and the RBCA. The prescribed form is Form 15(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

Once a cancellation notice is issued, it takes effect from the day it is given and a new initial notice may not be given in relation to any of the work to which the cancelled part of the initial notice is related (but not the rest of the work in the initial notice, where that work is not higher-risk building work).

What happens when a cancellation notice is issued by an RBCA and when can another RBCA be appointed for non-higher risk building work?

As described in this guidance, there are several circumstances where RBCAs have a legal duty to cancel initial notices that are in force (where they are shown as the RBCA). Failure to do so is a criminal offence that could lead to prosecution. It is also a breach of the Operational Standards Rules (Wales) (“OSRs”) and Professional Conduct Rules for Registered Building Control Approvers (Wales) (“PCRs”).

Where this applies, the RBCA should cancel the initial notices for the relevant projects (under section 52(1)(a) of the Building Act 1984) using Form 9(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024. They should inform the person carrying out the work that they are doing so.

Where the outgoing RBCA or the person carrying out the work has identified a new RBCA willing to act as the building control body for the work, the ‘new’ RBCA must issue a new initial notice for these projects within a period of 7 days from the cancellation of the original initial notice (under section 53(7)(a) and (8) of the Building Act 1984) using Form 1(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.  

The local authority must then accept or reject the new initial notice (but may only give a notice of rejection within five working days after the notice was given).

Once the new initial notice has been accepted by the local authority, the ‘new’ RBCA must take all reasonable steps to determine that the unfinished work does not contravene any provision of building regulations.

If the RBCA is unable to determine whether the unfinished work contravenes any building regulations they must give the person carrying out the work a notice setting out why they were unable to make the determination, and give a copy of that notice to the local authority.

If the ‘new’ RBCA determines that the unfinished work does not contravene any provision of building regulations, it must give a transfer certificate and a transfer report to the local authority within 21 days of the day on which the new initial notice was accepted or such longer time as the local authority is willing to agree to (if formally requested). See the section below on transfer certificates and reports for more information on this process.

When should a cancellation notice be issued by a local authority due to a disciplinary order or sanction against an RBCA and when can another RBCA be appointed?

Where a local authority is made aware that a relevant disciplinary order or sanction against an RBCA requires an initial notice to be cancelled, they should first check that the RBCA or the person carrying out the work has not already issued a cancellation notice.

If a cancellation notice has not already been given, the local authority must determine what type of sanction has been applied to the RBCA. The local authority will be notified by the Building Safety Regulator, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, regarding the type of disciplinary order (or cancellation of registration) that applies to the RBCA.

If the RBCA’s registration has not been cancelled, they must issue a ‘notice of proposed cancellation’ for the initial notices of the RBCA and the person carrying out work using Form 12(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024. After 7 days, if the initial notices have not been cancelled by the RBCA or the person carrying out the work, the local authority must cancel them using Form 11(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

The local authority is not required to give a ‘notice of proposed cancellation’ if the sanction relates to the RBCA having had their registration cancelled (whether due to a disciplinary order under section 58U(2)(d) or under section 58Z6(2) of the Building Act 1984). In this case, the initial notice must be cancelled using Form 11(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

The local authority may consider whether to investigate if the RBCA, or the person carrying out the work, may have committed an offence for not having cancelled the initial notice (under section 52(4) of the Building Act 1984).

Where the local authority cancels the initial notice for non-higher risk building work, they should wait at least 7 days before the work can be considered to have reverted back to the local authority. This 7 day period is the maximum allowed time for a new RBCA to submit a new initial notice in order to transfer the work from the original RBCA (under section 53(7)(a) and 53(8)(a) of the Building Act 1984).

What are transfer certificates and transfer reports?

A transfer certificate and transfer report are designed to make sure that the Local Authority is satisfied that the ‘new’ RBCA has assessed the unfinished work to date for compliance with the building regulations before carrying out building control functions under a new initial notice. They are described in section 53B of the Building Act 1984.

For non-higher risk building work, transfer certificates and reports can be prepared and given to the local authority where a cancellation notice has been issued by the outgoing RBCA under section 52(1)(a) of the Building Act 1984 (the most common route) or where the outgoing RBCA was subject to a relevant disciplinary order and the initial notice was cancelled by them or the local authority (under sections 52(1)(d) or (e) and sections 52(5A) of the Building Act 1984). In these cases, not preparing and submitting a transfer certificate and report will result in the work reverting to the local authority (the work will not be transferred to another RBCA).

A relevant new initial notice must also have been given within 7 days of the cancellation notice, it must relate to all of the original work (apart from any work that has received an accepted final certificate) and it cannot be a combined initial notice and plans certificate.

The transfer certificate must confirm that the ‘new’ RBCA has determined that the unfinished work up to the date of the certificate does not contravene any provision of building regulations. In particular, it must include:

a. A statement describing the original work and the unfinished work

b. A statement describing all the steps the approver has taken to determine whether the unfinished work contravenes any provision of the building regulations, in particular listing:

• each inspection or laying open of the work undertaken
• each report of any inspection or laying open of work produced
• any other assessment of the work which was considered
• a statement setting out the name and address of the registered building inspector from whom advice was obtained before giving the transfer certificate

c. A declaration, signed and dated by the approver, confirming:

• the approver has inspected the unfinished work
• the approver has determined that, as at the date of the transfer certificate, the unfinished work does not contravene any provision of the building regulations
• each report or assessment referred to the statement under paragraph (b) has been included in the transfer report given under section 53B of the 1984 Act
• the approver has obtained advice from a registered building inspector before giving the transfer certificate
• the approver has received the agreement of the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work to submit the transfer certificate and transfer report

The above list is from regulation 20 of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

The transfer report must be prepared by the ‘new’ RBCA and must contain any plans, documents or other information that was used to determine that the unfinished work (up to the date of the report) does not contravene any provision of building regulations.

After submission, the local authority has 28 days to accept or reject the transfer certificate and transfer report, based on whether they comply/do not comply with building regulations (under regulation 21 of the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024). 

This period can be extended by a period of 7 days if the local authority require more information from the outgoing RBCA within the last 7 days of the 28-day consideration period (under section 53C(4) and 53C(7) of the Building Act 1984). 

On what grounds can a local authority reject a transfer certificate or transfer report?

The grounds for rejecting a transfer certificate and transfer report are outlined below (and contained in Schedule 5 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024).

The grounds available to a local authority for rejecting a transfer certificate and transfer report are:

1. The transfer certificate does not include the information required by regulation 20 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.
    
2. The transfer certificate or report do not include information required by any provision of the Building Act 1984, for example requirements under section 53B.
    
3. The wrong local authority has been named on the transfer certificate, such that no part of the unfinished work described in the transfer certificate is to be carried out in the area of that local authority.
    
4. Following cancellation of the original initial notice, a new initial notice was not issued by the ‘new’ RBCA and accepted by the local authority before the transfer certificate was given.
    
5. The transfer certificate:

• has not been signed by the RBCA who issued the new initial notice
• has been signed by the RBCA who issued the new initial notice, but they are not an approver on the date the transfer certificate is rejected by the local authority; or
• has been signed by the RBCA who issued the new initial notice, but their registration does not include all the work described in the transfer certificate

6. The person specified in the transfer certificate as the building inspector who gave advice in relation to the certificate was not a registered building inspector on the date the certificate was submitted, or they were a registered building inspector on that date but their registration did not include all the work described in the certificate.
    
7. An earlier, new initial notice has already been issued which covers any part of the unfinished work described in the current initial notice. However, this ground does not apply if:

• the earlier initial notice is no longer in force, and the local authority has taken no positive step to supervise the work described in it; or
• the current initial notice is accompanied by an undertaking by the RBCA who gave the earlier initial notice stating that they will cancel that notice as soon as the current initial notice is accepted
  
  Alternately, where a transfer certificate and transfer report have already been accepted by the local authority.

8. The local authority has taken certain action in relation to the unfinished work, such as issuing a notice to remove or alter building work under section 36 of the Building Act 1984, or responding to an application in relation to unauthorised building work under regulation 18 of the Building Regulations 2010. Action by the local authority can also include any positive step taken to supervise the unfinished work.
    
9. Within the 28-day period in which the local authority must respond to the transfer certificate and transfer report, the RBCA has been asked to provide further information to the local authority but failed to do so within 7 days of the request.
    
10. The transfer certificate and transfer report were not submitted before the end of the 21-day period after the new initial notice from the ‘new’ RBCA was accepted (or a longer period if agreed by the local authority).

What happens when a local authority does not receive a transfer certificate or report within the deadline, or the local authority rejects the transfer certificate?

If the local authority does not receive a transfer certificate or report within the deadline or the local authority rejects the transfer certificate, then the local authority must cancel the new initial notice in accordance with section 53D of the Building Act 1984. They must use Form 16(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 and give this to the RBCA and the person shown in the initial notice as the person intending to carry out the work.

What happens if a new initial notice is cancelled by the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work when the local authority is considering a transfer certificate or report?

At any time where the new initial notice and the transfer certificate and report are being considered by the local authority, the person carrying out or intending to carry out the work to which the initial notice relates may cancel the initial notice by sending Form 17(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 to the local authority (and, if it is practicable to do so, to the RBCA).

A cancellation notice issued using Form 17(W) prevents a new initial notice being able to be subsequently given except in specific circumstances. These are where:

• the person carrying out or intending to carry out the work has cancelled the initial notice under section 53D(3) of the 1984 Act because they were satisfied the approver was unable to carry out (or continue to carry out) their functions with respect to any of the work to which the initial notice relates
• the approver is given a specified disciplinary order during the relevant period (as defined in section 53B(7) of the Building Act 1984 and regulation 23 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

How can information from the original RBCA be transferred to the new RBCA?

While the person carrying out the work should seek to voluntarily receive relevant project information from the outgoing RBCA, this may not always be successful.

However, sections 53(4C) to (4D) of the Building Act 1984 set out that the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work is also able to require that the outgoing RBCA shares any information obtained or created in relation to the work during the period in which the initial notice was in force and any other information they may reasonably require to enable someone else to act as the building control body for the unfinished work.

The outgoing RBCA must respond within 21 days (from the request from the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work). This is set out in regulation 18 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

This information may, for example, include (but is not limited to):

• plans
• fire strategy
• specifications
• relevant reports and calculations
• third party assessments
• plans certificate
• part final certificates
• correspondence, including consultations with statutory undertakers and Fire and Rescue Service
• inspection plans
• inspection records
• design, installation, testing and commissioning certificates

What happens when a cancellation notice has not been issued by an RBCA, but it appears to the person carrying out or intending to carry out the work (e.g. the client, developer or contractor) that the RBCA is no longer willing or able to carry out their functions with respect to any of that work?

Unlike the ‘transfer’ routes described above, this route does not involve a transfer certificate or report, nor does it have a time limit on the time taken between the issuing of the cancellation notice and submission of the new initial notice. However, it only applies where the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work is the person who has issued the cancellation notice, and only when doing so under section 52(3) of the Building Act 1984 and section 53(7)(b) and 53(9) of the Building Act 1984. These circumstances are described below.

If the person carrying out the work believes any part of the work has been completed and they have erroneously not been issued with a final certificate, then they should contact the RBCA at the first opportunity (under section 51 of the Building Act 1984). The RBCA should inform the person carrying out the work once they have done so, if the work does not contravene the building regulations.

Once the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work is of the opinion that the RBCA is no longer willing or able to carry out their functions with respect to any of that work, they should then issue a cancellation notice to the local authority (using Form 10(W) in Schedule 1 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024 ). If practicable to do so, they should also give a copy of the notice to the RBCA. This is set out in section 52(3) of the Building Act 1984.  

Once the cancellation notice has been issued, the person intending to carry out the rest of the work can appoint a ‘new’ RBCA who can, jointly with the person intending to carry out the work, issue a new initial notice for all the remaining work (that was not included on any final certificate that was issued, where appropriate). This is set out in sections 53(7)(b) and 53(9) of the Building Act 1984.

The local authority then must decide whether to accept the initial notice, they have 5 working days to reject the submitted initial notice if there are grounds to do so.

Once the initial notice is accepted, the new RBCA can carry out the building control functions for the works in the new initial notice.

How can information from the original RBCA be transferred to the new RBCA?

While the person carrying out the work should seek to voluntarily receive relevant project information from the outgoing RBCA, this may not always be successful.

However, sections 53(4C) to (4D) of the Building Act 1984 set out that the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work is also able to require that the outgoing RBCA shares any information obtained or created in relation to the work during the period in which the initial notice was in force and any other information they may reasonably require to enable someone else to act as the building control body for the unfinished work.

The outgoing RBCA must respond within 21 days (from the request from the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work). This is set out in regulation 18 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

This information may, for example, include (but is not limited to):

• plans
• fire strategy
• specifications
• relevant reports and calculations
• third party assessments
• plans certificate
• part final certificates
• correspondence, including consultations with statutory undertakers and Fire and Rescue Service
• inspection plans
• inspection records
• design, installation, testing and commissioning certificates

What happens when a project reverts/transfers to the local authority?

The local authority acts as the building control authority when a cancellation notice is issued for work and a new initial notice has not been issued transferring the oversight of the work to a ‘new’ RBCA (or where a transfer report/certificate has not been accepted by the local authority, so that the new initial notice is cancelled).

Where this happens, the person carrying out the work should find the relevant local authority online and follow their instructions for notifying them that the project is going to transfer to them. This process is often referred to as ‘reversion’.

The local authority will require the owner to provide the following documents: 

• Plans, drawing, specifications and other relevant design documentation sufficient to show the extent of the building work being undertaken and to demonstrate compliance with the relevant parts of the Building Regulations 2010.
• If the owner has an accepted plans certificate from the person described as the RBCA on the cancelled initial notice, then this should be supplied with the submission.
• Records of the site inspections undertaken by the person described as the RBCA on the cancelled initial notice, sufficient to confirm the dates of inspection, stage of work and observations recorded with respect to compliance with the relevant parts of the Building Regulations 2010.

The local authority should then inform the person carrying out the work of the outcome of their ‘reversion application’ for their project. Note, this is not the same as a full plans application.

How can information from the original RBCA be transferred to the local authority when a project has reverted to them?

The local authority must give the person carrying out the work reasonable notice to produce:

• Sufficient plans of the work which has been carried out (and is not the subject of a final certificate) to demonstrate whether any part of that work would contravene the Building Regulations 2010.
• A copy of the plans under any plans certificate which has been given and accepted by the local authority for any part of the work.

Where the person carrying out the work has not received detailed records from the person described as the RBCA on the initial notice, the local authority has the power to mandate that information is shared with them by the RBCA.

Sections 53(4A) to (4D) of the Building Act 1984 give the local authority the power to send a notice to the outgoing RBCA to mandate that information is shared with the local authority and the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work for specific purposes. The local authority may specify the format in which this information must be shared.

This may include any information the local authority would have obtained if the local authority had performed the function of enforcing building regulations when the initial notice was in force (relating to that work) and any other information the local authority may reasonably require.

The person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work is also able to require that the outgoing RBCA shares any information obtained or created in relation to the work during the period in which the initial notice was in force and any other information they may reasonably require to enable someone else to act as the building control body for the unfinished work.

In both cases, the outgoing RBCA must respond within 21 days (from the local authority notice or the request from the person carrying out (or intending to carry out) the work). This is set out in regulation 18 to the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

This information may, for example, include (but is not limited to):

• plans
• fire strategy
• specifications
• relevant reports and calculations
• third party assessments
• plans certificate
• part final certificates
• correspondence, including consultations with statutory undertakers and Fire and Rescue Service
• inspection plans
• inspection records
• design, installation, testing and commissioning certificates

Should this information be incomplete, or otherwise insufficient, the local authority may have difficulty ascertaining whether any of the work which has been carried out contravenes the Building Regulations 2010. Where this is the case, the local authority can write to the person carrying out the work to request that they cut into, lay open or pull down any of the work within a reasonable time. This request must be in the form of a written notice to the person carrying out the work.

Can the local authority reject a reverted project?

A local authority has a duty as the building control authority and cannot refuse to accept a reverted project. If a local authority has concerns about its capacity due to reversions, then it should contact the Welsh Government to express its concerns. It may also wish to consider contacting Local Authority Building Control (LABC) and/or other networks of local authorities.

Welsh Government

• The Welsh Government will work alongside the Building Safety Regulator, Local Authority Building Control and local authorities to offer advice and support.
• Where a local authority does not have capacity to manage the demand placed on them by an unexpected mass reversion, the Welsh Government may consider whether there is any additional support they may be able to provide.
• The Welsh Government can be contacted at: enquiries.brconstruction@gov.wales. 

The Building Safety Regulator

• The Building Safety Regulator will inform the Welsh Government and local authorities when an RBCA is suspended or removed from the register.
• If the Building Safety Regulator identifies that an RBCA may be getting into difficulties, they may intervene and require the RBCA to take steps to address the areas of concern. They would also notify Welsh Government. This would only be where the RBCA’s difficulties are related to the Building Safety Regulator’s oversight of RBCAs on behalf of the Welsh Ministers. Any other issue that arises outside of the functions that the Building Safety Regulator perform on behalf of the Welsh Ministers will be for the regulatory authority to act.
• Where the Building Safety Regulator become aware of an RBCA’s intention to exit the market, they may take steps to ensure this is done as smoothly as possible, such as requiring the RBCA to inform their clients of the situation, and highlighting the options for how the project can transfer, as soon as possible.
• To contact the Building Safety Regulator use this page to Contact the Building Safety Regulator.

Local Authority Building Control (LABC Cymru)

• May liaise with Welsh Government, the Building Safety Regulator and local authorities in Wales.
• May assess the capacity of local authorities in Wales to take on additional work.
• May assess which information will be required from an RBCA.
• May assess which format the information is in and identify if their IT systems are compatible to facilitate a data transfer.
• May assess whether other authorities in Wales can lend resource where needed.
• May advise on processes to address non-compliant work.

How may local authorities be satisfied that a reverted project complies with the Building Regulations?

It is entirely the responsibility of the person carrying out the work to ensure building work complies with the requirements of the Building Regulations.

Local authorities receiving reversions from RBCAs may decide to adopt a specific risk based and pragmatic approach to regulating building work that has previously been inspected by an RBCA where they are not aware of a contravention.

Local authorities will have in place arrangements for Registered Building Inspectors to assess plans and inspect building work and advise if a completion certificate should be issued. The reversion process will usually follow the same checking and assessment standards and activity as other projects, where that is practicable and possible.

However, regulating building work that has reverted to the local authority from an RBCA can create an efficiency and regulatory challenge. It is important for all those involved in projects to recognise this and support the local authority by providing information and engaging positively. Work may have been previously covered up and may not be available for inspection without extensive and disruptive work. There may be no plans certificate in place and the local authority will want to carry out a regulatory assessment of the project and be satisfied about compliance of the work carried out under the cancelled initial notice.

It may not be a proportionate regulatory approach for a local authority to require building work that has been subject to inspection and regulation by an RBCA to be opened up without evidence of risk. In these circumstances a risk based, and proportionate approach could include identifying and recording work that is covered up without requiring it to be exposed for inspection. The decision could be informed by information submitted by the RBCA, or others involved in the building work. Decisions not to inspect should be reasonable, rational and recorded and should not affect the decision to issue a completion certificate.

The local authority may want to prioritise activity based on risk relating to compliance with building regulations. It may be reasonable to prioritise projects nearing completion such as new housing, hospitals, etc. and those projects that have reached an inspection stage.

How can local authorities share capacity where they receive a high number of reversions?

The Welsh Government would be willing to discuss options with any affected authority and Local Authority Building Control (LABC Cymru) where acute capacity issues are present.

Sections 101 to 103 and section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972, sections 19 and 20 of the Local Government Act 2000 and the corresponding regulations 6 to 12 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Discharge of Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2002 all provide legal routes by which local authorities can work together to share capacity and provide mutual aid where appropriate.

Joint committees

Local authorities can establish multi-authority joint committees which they can use to share a pooled resource as needed, with the funding arrangements agreed in the constitutional arrangements for the committee. While often used for strict ‘shared services’ they can also be used by local authorities to provide services to their own members and other public bodies (for a charge).

Discharge of functions

Local authorities can delegate functions to other local authorities by agreement (subject to provisions contained in other legislation). The delegating authority remains ultimately responsible for the exercising of the delegated functions. This is another route that is used as an alternative to joint committee arrangements.

Sharing officers

Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows a local authority to enter into an agreement with another local authority to place an officer of one at the disposal of the other for the purposes of discharging the latter’s functions, seconding them into the receiving authority temporarily. This may be appropriate for authorities where there are short-term capacity issues and another authority has the capacity to assist the authority in need.