The Building Standards system in Scotland is established by the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. The Act gives powers to the Scottish Ministers to make building regulations, procedure regulations, fees regulations and other supporting legislation as necessary, to fulfil the purposes of the Act. Building Standards is responsible for ensuring that the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, a set of construction standards laid down by the Scottish Parliament, are enforced in your local Council area. The primary purpose of Building Standards is to ensure the health and safety of building users and this is achieved by the application of the standards. These standards are therefore applied to new, altered, extended or demolished buildings and include requirements for structural stability, fire safety, environment issues, safety and accessibility, energy conservation and noise. The standards are enforced through a plan assessment of building warrant applications and site inspections by members of the Building Standards team.
Building Standards should not be confused with Planning. The Planning Service is concerned with, amongst other issues, the siting of the building, its visual impact on the surrounding area and general aesthetics. Building Standards is concerned with how the building is constructed in relation to structure and fire, means of escape, its energy efficiency and accessibility and the general health and safety of the building users. Therefore in many cases both a Building Warrant and Planning Permission must be obtained before building works commence.
The role of Building Standards therefore encompasses;
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Assessment of Building Warrant applications.
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Assessment of works for Acceptance of Completion Certificate Submissions.
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Enforcement following unauthorised building works.
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Respond to reports of dangerous buildings.
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Allocation of street names and postal numbers.
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Inspection of properties and events subject to various licensing applications.
Changes to Building Regulations & Technical Handbooks on 1st October 2010
The Scottish Government has made amendments and revisions to the Building Regulations and associated Technical Handbooks. These changes came into force on 1st October 2010.
Building Warrant Applications that were received on and after 1st October 2010 will be assessed against the clauses contained in the revised Technical Handbooks. You can obtain copies of the relevant documents and further information regarding these changes, at no cost, from the Scottish Government website.
These changes are wide ranging and we have prepared for these by providing awareness training to relevant team members. If you require further information or advice regarding the changes, please ask to speak with one of our Building Standards Surveyors when you contact us.
The Team
The team presently comprises of 8 staff: 1 Team Leader, 5 Building Standards Surveyors and 2 Administrative staff. Applications for building warrants are normally allocated on an area basis to one of the 5 Building Standards Surveyors. Working within a dedicated area allows the Surveyor to become familiar with buildings and site conditions in the area, and to recognise and follow up instances of unauthorised construction works.
The Private Sector Housing Unit is also located within the Building Standards section and comprises one Surveyor and one Administrative Assistant.
