A majority of building control professionals have completed registration with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) after the 6 July deadline extension.
Figures released this week by the regulator show that as of 30 July, 4,049 of BSR’s estimated 4,500 practising building control professionals in England and Wales are now registered.
The data shows the following breakdown in registrations:
- At Class 1 (Trainee): 1,971
- At Class 2 (Registered Building Inspector): 1,614
- At Class 3 (Specialist Building Inspector): 464
- At Class 4 (Building Inspector – Technical Manager): 516
Building inspectors are now required to be registered and complete an assessment demonstrating their competence as part of the new building safety regime that came fully into force on 6 April 2024.
Under the new regime, the BSR – an offshoot of the Health and Safety Executive established through the Building Safety Act 2022 – took responsibility for the Building Control profession.
Any building control inspector who fails to comply with the Code of Conduct, the Professional Conduct Rules, or the Operational Standards Rules may be liable for a fine, prosecution or strike-off.
‘A fair and pragmatic regulator’
Initially, all building control inspectors in England and Wales were required to have registered with BSR by 6 April and to complete an assessment competence demonstration.
However, a letter from the Local Authority Building Control chief executive warning of the potential collapse of Building Control functions due to a lack of available building control surveyors prompted BSR to extend the deadline until the 6 July.
The Welsh government has extended the deadline until the 1 October 2024.
Commenting on the latest registration figures, Ged Cooper, BSR head of building control professional standards at BSR, said: “We are encouraged by this steady increase in numbers and are pleased to see a consistent level of success in Class 2 and Class 3 and it’s heartening that a high proportion are also Class 4 technical managers. We expect to see this positive progress continue.
“BSR is focused on being a fair and pragmatic regulator. Granting an extension for building inspectors to complete their competency assessments shows our commitment to a supportive regulatory environment and a level playing field in building control.
“Building Control Bodies must take regulatory advice from RBIs of Class 2 or Class 3 RBIs to perform their functions effectively. We’ve started investigations and inspections of these bodies and will require assurance with evidence to demonstrate that they have sufficient resources to deliver their regulatory duties and responsibility.”
