Benefits of using an Approved Certifier – Home owners
Legal Responsibility
Did you know that, as the building owner, you are legally responsible for ensuring that all work done to your property complies with the building regulations? If the work doesn't comply it will not be legal and could even be dangerous. In such circumstances the local authority could refuse to accept a completion certificate, which would prevent you occupying the building, and may also require you to put it right at your own expense. In addition, you could face problems and additional expense when you come to sell your house if any home improvement work you have had done is found not to meet the building standards.
How to avoid this happening
Most people lack the necessary knowledge to ensure that work done to their property complies with building regulations and rely on a building professional to do this on their behalf. Therefore, it is really important to make sure that the building professionals you engage to do the work are well trained, qualified and have a good understanding of the building regulations. One way of doing this is to use an Approved Certifier.
How to find an Approved Certifier
The Certification Register held by the Scottish Government Building Standards Division is a comprehensive list of all Approved Certifiers in Scotland. You can visit the Certification Register on the BSD website to find an Approved Certifier in your area who can carry out your work.
Benefits of using an Approved Certifier
Having an Approved certifier do the work will benefit you in the following ways:
- It will assist you in meeting your legal requirement of ensuring that work done to your building complies with the building regulations;
- Work covered by a certificate issued by an Approved Certifier requires no further checking by the verifier, saving time and speeding up the processing of building warrant applications and acceptance of completion certificates allowing you to undertake the work and occupy the premises without delay;
- There is a financial benefit to you as a discount is given on the warrant fee when certificates of design or construction are notified and provided to the verifier;
- Your work will be done by trained and competent people as Approved Certifiers are required to undertake regular training to ensure they are fully conversant with new technologies, such as solar panels, or the application of new regulations;
- You will receive a high quality service from an approved reputable company;
- You have a higher level of protection as firms employing Approved Certifiers are required to have an appropriate level of insurance cover;
- In the unlikely event that problems arise you will have access to a robust independent complaints procedure.