Summary: Mr X complained the Council’s Building Control wrongly refuses to register valid building regulation notifications which are not submitted directly through a Competent Person Scheme. We found fault by the Council. This is because it has refused to store notifications in line with the Building Regulations 2010 and based its decision on scheme specific membership rules which was not for it to enforce. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and take action to enable his, and other installers, valid notifications to be stored in line with the Regulations.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, said the Council’s building control, operating under Acivico Group Limited, is acting contrary to duties under the Building Control Act 1984 & Building Regulations 2010 by refusing to register valid building regulation notifications. He said this is because it wrongly requires self-certified notifications to be completed through Competent Person Schemes which incurs a fee.
2. Mr X said, as a result, he and self-certified members of Competent Person Schemes experience unnecessary frustration and costs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(1)(A) and 25(7), as amended).
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Building Control and Building Regulations

8. Councils have a very important role in ensuring buildings are safe for people to use. Their duty is to protect the public, rather than the interests of private individuals. They have extensive powers to protect the public, ranging from checking building works for compliance with building regulations, and requiring or carrying out emergency works to make buildings safe.
9. Most building work requires building regulation approval. Building regulations set out requirements and guidance that builders and building owners are required to follow and consider. The purpose of the regulations is to make sure buildings are safe for those that use them or live around them.
10. A certificate of building regulations approval can be granted by councils acting as building control authorities, or by independent ‘approved’ inspectors. Councils employ building inspectors to carry out this work.
11. There are two ways a building owner can get building regulations approval. These are:

• Full plans application. The owner or their agent submits plans. The plans are checked for compliance with building regulations.
• Building notice application. The owner or their agent informs the Council or approved inspector of their intention to begin building work. The Council’s inspector or an independent approved inspector will visit the site at various stages of work to check compliance with building regulations.

Competent Person Schemes

12. Competent Person Schemes were introduced by the Government to reduce the regulatory burden on Building Control bodies by allowing qualified professionals to self-certify that home improvement works complies with Building Regulations. This eliminated the need for submissions of formal building notices and payments of local inspection fees.
13. There are several Schemes which covers areas for works such as glazing, roofing, and gas or electrical works. The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government authorises and reviews each scheme. The Building Safety Regulator is the responsible body for Competent Person Schemes.
14. Qualified professionals are required to be members of relevant a Competent Person Scheme to be allowed to self-certify works. Each scheme has specific rules for how its memberships are obtained, reviewed, and renewed. This normally include requiring evidence of qualifications and inspections of some works to ensure standards are adhered to.
15. Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010 lists specific types of works and sets out the requirements for the person carrying it out. This includes within 30 days of completing the works, to provide a copy of the certificate to evidence the requirements of the regulations have been satisfied, to:
• the occupier; and
• give to the local authority notice to that effect, or to provide a copy of the certificate.
16. A local authority shall store in a retrievable form, copies of the notices and certificates given to it.

The Local Authority Building Control (LABC)

17. The LABC is a membership body for local authorities in the UK. It provides advice and support to local authorities relating to building control matters. It aims to promote good practice and consistency across the country. However, compliance with the law is ultimately matters to be determined by each individual local authority, or the courts.

What happened

18. Mr X works within the industry of several of the areas of work which are covered by the Building Regulations 2010. He has sent many notifications to local authorities around the country which has subsequently been stored in retrievable forms.
19. Mr X sent self-certified works notifications to the Council’s building control, operating under Acivico Group Limited. However, the Council has refused to register in a retrievable form his notices or certificates, including notifications he has made on behalf of other installers. It told him this was because such notifications must be made directly through a Competent Person Scheme.
20. Mr X challenged the Council’s view. He also sought guidance from the LABC. In February 2025 the LABC issued a guidance letter to local authorities regarding third-party organisations giving building regulation compliance certification for the purposes of Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010. Its view was:
• third-party notifications satisfy the requirements where the installer is registered with a Competent Person Scheme, and the works is within the scope of the relevant scheme and the installer’s registration;
• there is no legal requirement for the installer to notify the local authority via a Competent Person Scheme or any other specific system; and
• when a local authority receives any notification under Regulation 20, they must store it in a retrievable form. Local authorities may wish to share the information received with the relevant Competent Person Scheme.
21. Mr X shared the LABC advice with the Council, but it did not change its view. He subsequently complained to the Council about its continued refusal to register notifications in line with Regulation 20.
22. In response the Council did not change its view. It explained Mr X had made a notification directly to the Council and outside a specific Competent Person Scheme portal. However, this Scheme’s membership rules require installers to submit notifications to local authorities through its portal. It said installers should therefore follow the scheme rules or risk being removed from the scheme. The Council would therefore only accept notifications made though the scheme.
23. Mr X challenged the Council again. He said the Council was acting outside its remit and the law, as there is no requirement of notification to be made through a Competent Person Scheme. He said any issues with membership rules are between installers and relevant Competent Person Schemes.
24. Mr X also brought his concerns to the specific Competent Person Scheme’s attention. He explained its scheme rules says notification requirements can be met by using the Scheme’s portal. However, its rules then wrongly require all notifications must be notified to it. The Scheme acknowledged the Regulations permits a person carrying out notifiable works to either give notice or a certificate directly to local authorities within specified timescales. However, the scheme rules remain unchanged, and in Mr X’s view, therefore not in line with the Regulations.
25. In its final response the Council did not change its view. It again explained it will only accept notifications made through Competent Person Schemes, or Mr X could apply to the Council for building regulation approval for individual works. It set out a section from the specific Competent Person Scheme’s membership rules which requires installers to register all notifiable works with it.
26. Mr X asked the Ombudsman to consider his complaint. He said the Council is acting wrongly as it is refusing to store self-certified works in line with Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010.

Analysis and findings

27. The Ombudsman cannot consider issues between individual installers and Competent Person Schemes. Such issues are a matter for each scheme to address, and any concerns can be brought the Building Safety Regulator’s attention.
28. In line with the advice provided by the LABC, the Council is also not responsible for Competent Person Schemes or individual installers adherence with their membership rules for their relevant Schemes. It is therefore not for the Council to consider whether Mr X, or other’s he is acting on behalf of, are in breach of membership rules in the way they are providing notifications for self-certified works.
29. The Council’s only role is to satisfy itself Mr X, or other installers, are registered with a relevant Competent Person Scheme for the works the notification applies, and the works took place during a time the installer was registered. If this is the case, it must store the notification it receives in a retrievable format in line with the Regulations.
30. Mr X has provided notifications to the Council which were made in line with the requirements of the Regulations. I have therefore found the Council at fault for its refusal to comply with Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010 to store his notifications in a retrievable form. This is because it has incorrectly relied on Competent Person Schemes membership rules which are not for the Council to enforce. This was also confirmed through the advice it received from the LABC.
31. I am satisfied this has caused Mr X frustration and an inconvenience.

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Action

32. When a council commissions or arranges for another organisation to provide services we treat actions taken by or on behalf of that organisation as actions taken on behalf of the council and in the exercise of the council’s functions. Where we find fault with the actions of the service provider, we can make recommendations to the council alone. Here we have found fault with the actions the Acivico Group Limited and make the following recommendations to the Council.
33. To remedy the injustice the Council caused to Mr X, the Council should, within one month of the final decision:
1. apologise in writing to Mr X to acknowledge the injustice its fault caused him;

We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.

2. allow Mr X to resubmit his notifications made under Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010, and store these in a retrievable form without delay.
2. Within three months of the final decision the Council should also:
1.  
2.  
3. revise its building control process to allow notifications it receives in line with Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010 by self-certified installers, or others action on their behalf, to be stored in a retrievable format. This includes notifications which are not made through Competent Person Schemes, unless the Council cannot satisfy itself installers are members of an authorised scheme for the relevant works, or works took place within the period an installer was a member of such scheme.
3. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

36. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault by the Council which caused an injustice. The Council will apologise and take action to change its process to enable properly made notifications to be stored.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman