Hartlepool Borough Council (19 002 272)

Category : Planning > Building control

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 22 Oct 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman did not find fault in a complaint which alleged the Council’s building control team failed to advise the complainant that the layout of a building under construction did not comply with building regulations until building work was almost complete.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I refer to here as Mr X, says building control officers failed to advise him that the layout of a building under construction did not comply with building regulations until building work was almost complete.
  2. Mr X also complains about the attitude of a building control officer whom he alleges was arrogant, condescending, and dismissive.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I reviewed the complaint and considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. I discussed matters with Mr X by telephone. I sent a draft decision statement to Mr X and the Council. I considered the comments of both parties on it.

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What I found

The building control process

  1. Most building work, whether new, alterations, or extensions requires Building Regulation approval. The Building Act 1984 is the primary legislation under which the Building Regulations and other secondary legislation are made. The legislative framework of the 'Building Regulations' is principally made up of The Building Regulations 2010 and The Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010.
  2. The Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure health and safety for people in and about those buildings.  'Approved documents' give examples of how the Regulations can be met, but these examples do not have to be followed.
  3. Building Regulations approval can usually be obtained in one of two ways:
    • With full plans: drawings are deposited for approval. Building work is subsequently checked on site for compliance with the Regulations (not compliance with the approved plans).
    • With a building notice: notice of commencement of building work is given prior to the commencement of work. The various stages of the work are then inspected and approved but no plans are checked.
  4. Primary responsibility for building work rests with those who commission it and those who do the work. When carrying out their functions, local authorities will visit at various stages but they are not required to do so. The number and timings of any inspections may vary by local authority and type of development.
  5. Local authorities will be not be present for the great majority of the project and do not act as a ‘clerk of works’. On request and when satisfied after taking 'all reasonable steps' that the Regulations have been met, they must issue a completion certificate. This is not a guarantee that all works have been done to the required standard. Building Regulations provide a means for the local authority to maintain building standards in general, rather than imposing a duty to maintain standards in each particular case.

Background

  1. Mr X submitted a building notice application to the Council in July 2018. This required the Council to inspect the building work to ensure it complied with building regulations. The Council accepted his application and provided information on the building control process. The information pointed out the onus on Mr X to understand and implement the building regulations.
  2. Two building control officers carried out inspections at various stages of the building works between July and November 2018. I shall refer to the officers as Officer A and Officer B.
  3. At the last inspection visit in November 2018, Officer B told Mr X the work did not comply with the building regulations regarding means of warning and escape. This followed an earlier visit in November conducted by Officer A. Mr X was upset by Officer B’s words and attitude during his visit. Mr X asked Officer B to leave the site.
  4. Afterwards, Mr X sought clarity on the regulations from Officer A by telephone. It appears Mr X told the officer he had followed the design drawing of his builder.
  5. Officer A exchanged emails with the builder following the conversation with Mr X. The officer told the builder that he had discussed many items with Mr X and the builder following the first site visit in July 2018. Officer A said he asked for further plans to show details of construction and layout, but he did not receive any further drawings other than calculations. Officer A said he assumed the builder and Mr X were aware of the building regulations and so had agreed an alternative way of ensuring compliance regarding the layout of the building.
  6. Officer B concluded the layout did not meet building regulations and so the Council could not issue a completion certificate.
  7. Mr X then made a complaint to the Council. The essence of the complaint was that officers had not referred to any problems with the layout of the building before the final visit in November whereas Officer A declared the layout of the building as a ‘major issue’ during a visit in November. Mr X says this means officers failed to notice the ‘issue’ during previous visits. Mr X says Officer A even remarked during a visit in October 2018 that the property looked well and there had been a high standard of workmanship. Mr X says being told on the day the building was supposed to receive a 'sign off’' by building control that further work was required was unacceptable. He says his builder followed every instruction given by Officer A throughout the project. He said the opening had been clear from July and his builder have provided the calculations to Officer B in August 2018.
  8. Mr X also complained about the conduct and attitude of Officer B.
  9. In response to the complaint, the Council said its building control team carried out inspections as required at the requisite stages of the building works. It said the team provided guidance to Mr X and his builder throughout the duration of the works.
  10. With regard to the layout of the building, it acknowledged receipt of the calculation plans for steel work within the extension in August 2018. However, it says Officer A understood there was an existing beam in place and so no additional steel work was necessary. The Council said it was the responsibility of the client and any agent to ensure information was unambiguous which was not the case with the diagram provided.
  11. The Council said it could not comment on the attitude of Officer B because there were no independent witness to corroborate Mr X’s claim.

Analysis

Was there fault by the Council regarding concerns about the layout of the building?

  1. Mr X followed the building notice route when he sought building regulations approval from the Council. It is important to note that by following this route, the Council would inspect various stages of the work but it does not check plans.
  2. I recognise Mr X considers that by paying the application fee the Council then assumed responsibility for advising him on the building regulations but this view was mistaken. The Council did not act as a supervisor of the building works and the responsibility for ensuring compliance still lay with Mr X.

Was there fault by the Council because of the conduct and attitude of Officer B?

  1. This investigation cannot now establish the material facts of the November visit involving Officer B. Mr X says the encounter was witnessed by his builder and one other party. But these witnesses are not independent. As I was not privy to the visit, I do not have any evidence from independent witnesses that would now show what happened during the visit. I cannot conclude there was fault by the Council because of the attitude of the Officer B during the November 2018 visit.

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Final decision

  1. I closed this complaint because I did not find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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