Core services

Building (Scotland) Act 2003

We process building warrant applications, checking that building design and construction are carried out in accordance with the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.

Verifiers

We are the sole verifier for the Scottish Borders area. Verifiers carry the responsibility of ensuring, after reasonable enquiry, that the standards set out in the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 2004 are met.

Building regulations

Building regulations set out minimum standards required for the design and construction of buildings to safeguard, as far as possible, the health and safety of people in and around a property. Building regulations are supported by technical handbooks and cover many aspects of building design including:

• access
• safety
• energy efficiency
• sustainability.

The technical handbooks are constantly under review and changes are made to reflect new requirements and users' needs, for example, improved thermal efficiency to conserve energy.

Building warrants

A building warrant is a formal permission which is required before work can start. It is different from planning permission. Building warrant applications are necessary to us to assess whether design and construction of a building complies with building regulations. Applications may cover many classes and types of building;

• public and private housing,
• commercial,
• industrial, etc.

A building warrant application may be required for the erection, conversion, alteration, extension and/or demolition of a structure. A building warrant valid for three years and construction work must not begin before the building warrant has been approved.

Inspection

A Building Standards officer may visit your property when processing your application. Tests (for example, drain or air tightness tests) may be required to establish compliance with the regulations. Therefore, you must notify us about when you intend to start work on site. This allows for inspections to be arranged.

Completion submission

Before a building or part of a building is occupied, a Completion Submission for the work should be submitted and accepted. However, the issue of a Completion Certificate does not guarantee the standard of workmanship and it is always advisable to employ professional experts at all stages of design and construction. Where the work has been completed prior to warrant being issued, a Completion Certificate Where No Warrant Was Obtained - Submission can be made. This type of application incurs a 25% fee surcharge.

Determinations

We may approve work that does not comply with the current guidance standards by issuing what is called a "determination". This will only be considered if it is unreasonable in particular circumstances to apply the minimum standards.

Pre-application advice

Discussions with applicants and agents are often beneficial to confirm design principles and help interpret technical aspects of the regulations before an application is submitted or before a design is progressed. We offer a pre-application advice service and a request for advice form is available.

Enforcement and dangerous buildings

We are responsible for enforcement duties contained within the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to ensure that buildings comply with building regulations and associated technical standards. We are able to take enforcement action where work is carried out without a building warrant or is not consistent with building warrant requirements. We are also required to make sure that public safety is maintained in relation to defective and dangerous buildings.