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Choosing Your Building Control Body - Local Authority or Approved Inspector
Choosing Your Building Control Body - Local Authority or Approved Inspector
Local Authority or Approved Inspector?
Approved Inspectors have existed since 1985 and can be either corporate bodies or individuals. They operate in competition with Local Authority Building Control to provide services that generate a profit. Local Authority Building Control continues to provide an independent, publicly accountable service which operates on a cost recovery basis only. Despite 25 years of competition, our in-house Building Control service retains a market share of approximately 75% with the Royal Borough.
Without the benefit of either reliable recommendation or previous experience of their service, assessing a Building Control provider is extremely difficult. However, you can view some of the comments made by our previous clients below.
You may wish to consider the following issues before making your choice:-
- How long has the Building Control body been in existence?
- Where is the Building Control body based? If it is based out of the region how will this affect the frequency and timeliness of site inspections?
- If the Building Control charge varies significantly between providers, consider why this might be and what implications this might have for your project?
- If the contractor feels strongly about using one particular Building Control provider, why might this be?
- How long will records of the project be kept?
- What will happen if the Building Control body ceases to trade?
- If things go wrong, what complaints procedure is in place?
At Kingston, we have always respected the wishes of those clients choosing to employ the services of an Approved Inspector, as opposed to our own. However, we strongly believe that it is for the client to exercise this choice and nobody else. You are not obliged to employ a particular Approved Inspector who may be introduced to you and they cannot be appointed without your specific agreement. It is perfectly in order for you to choose the Local Authority (or indeed, an alternative Approved Inspector) should you so wish. Remember, the choice is entirely yours.
What our Clients have to say about our Services:-
"Staff always professional & approachable. Excellent service & value. Thank you!"
"Constructive, Helpful, Practical!"
"When I asked for a quick response, I got it"
"Attentive Surveyors, very helpful & extremely efficient"
"Quick and responsive. Very professional"
"The application of common sense to problems on site, from very experienced Surveyors"