BSR begins investigating capacity of building control firms

A 13-week extension period for building inspectors in England to complete their competency assessment came to an end on 6 July. The deadline was pushed back after many in the sector expressed doubts over the feasibility of meeting the initial deadline.

In February, the BSR said it was aware of “concerns” in the sector over the impending registration deadline, which was then set for 6 April. In March, it announced the extension period, which was welcomed by Local Authority Building Control, an industry body.

The BSR said it had “listened to and acknowledged the sector’s challenges” throughout the transition period, including allowing some people to carry out work in areas they had been assessed on, despite not having received the full competency assessment results.

At the time, the BSR confirmed it had taken the decision to allow “a limited cohort” of people to continue to work while waiting for their exam results.

Class two and three inspectors were told they would revert to a class one registered building inspector and be allowed to work supervised.

There are four classes of building inspector: trainees, registered building inspectors, specialist building inspectors and technical managers.

The standards for the sector are set out in the building inspector competence framework, which went through a public consultation between October and December 2022 and was published in April 2023.

Registration data shows that, as of 30 July 2024, there were 4,049 building professionals registered as building inspectors in England and Wales.

The class with the most registrations so far is the trainee group, with 1,971 people, followed by registered building inspector, with 1,614.

The two most senior classes had far fewer registrations, with 464 specialist building inspectors and 516 technical managers.

“Building control bodies must take regulatory advice from registered building inspectors of class two or class three” in order to function effectively, Mr Cooper said.

“Enhanced professional standards will lead to stronger compliance with building regulations. Improved practices will set high standards as the norm, not the exception.

“Looking at the landscape ahead, the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of building control activities are set to significantly improve,” he said.

Inside Housing revealed in July how delays at the BSR could lead to an uptick in financing costs, with borrowers paying higher interest rates for longer as they wait for projects to be signed off, according to warnings from sector experts.