GovWire

Role of a building inspector

Registered building inspectors carry out regulated building control activities, which are:

• assessing plans
• inspections
• giving advice to building control bodies that carry out regulated functions

Building control bodies

Registered building inspectors work for building control bodies, either as employees or contractors. Building control bodies are:

• the Building Safety Regulator (BSR)
• local authorities
• registered building control approvers

Before you register as a building inspector

Competency assessment

If you want to apply to register as a class 2, 3 or 4 building inspector, you will need to complete an independent competency assessment. If you apply to register without being assessed, you will be registered as a class 1 building inspector and can only work under supervision.

Competency assessments for registration are only valid from approved schemes. You can get a competency assessment by contacting one of the providers of the approved schemes, which are:

• Building Safety Competence Foundation (BSCF)
• Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE)
• Total Training Development Ltd

The assessment evaluates your skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours against the relevant building inspector competence framework:

• building inspector competence framework for England (hse.gov.uk)
• building inspector competence framework for Wales (wales.gov)

As part of the assessment youll need to submit a portfolio of your work and pass an exam or an interview. You must be re-assessed at least every 4 years.

After you complete your assessment youll receive a certificate number. Youll be asked to provide the number when you register, as proof of your assessment.

Registration classes and building categories

Youll need to decide which registration class you are competent to apply for. There are 4 classes of registered building inspector.

Class 1

Must only work under supervision. You do not have to complete a competency assessment to register as a class 1 building inspector. This class is suitable for anyone new to the profession who is undergoing training.

Class 2

Can work unsupervised on building categories they are registered to work on, which may include:

• category A, a residential dwelling house for a single household, less than 7.5m in height
• category B, residential flats and dwelling houses, less than 11m in height
• category C, residential flats and dwelling houses, 11m or more but less than 18m in height
• category D, all building types and uses, less than 7.5m in height
• category E, all building types, 7.5m or more but less than 11m in height
• category F, all building types 11m or more but less than 18m in height

Class 3

Can work unsupervised on building categories they are registered to work on, which may include category A to F buildings and:

• category G, all building types, including standard and non-standard but excluding high-risk, with no height limit
• category H, all building types, including high-risk

Class 4 technical manager

Technical managers are class 2 or class 3 building inspectors with additional responsibilities for the technical management of teams and processes.

A class 2 building inspector, who is also a class 4 technical manager, cannot carry out any class 3 activities unless supervised.

Someone who is not a registered building inspector can administratively manage a building control team, but not on technical matters.

Code of conduct

As part of your application to register, well ask you to confirm that you comply with the code of conduct for registered building inspectors in the countries you are registered in.

Read the:

• code of conduct for England (hse.gov.uk)
• code of conduct for Wales (gov.wales)

If you register for both England and Wales you will have to confirm that you comply with both codes of conduct.

Registering as a building inspector

You can apply to register as a building inspector online.

Registrations will usually be valid for 4 years, unless varied, suspended or cancelled by BSR.

If you register before 6 April 2024, the 4 years begin from 6 April 2024.

What youll need

To complete the registration, youll need to provide:

• your name, date of birth and contact details
• your National Insurance number to cross-check with your competency assessment
• the building inspector class you want to register as
• the categories of buildings you are competent to work on
• details of your independent competency assessment, if you have one
• membership details of relevant professional bodies, if you have any
• your employment status
• your credit or debit card details to pay the 336 registration charge - whether you register for one country or both

Getting a decision

Well tell you if your application is approved, approved subject to conditions, or rejected.

In cases where the application is subject to conditions or rejected, well tell you why.

You can challenge the decision. The process is different depending on whether you applied to register in England, Wales, or both.

To request a review of an English registration decision, you should contact BSR within 21 days of receiving your decision. Youll need to tell us:

• your application reference
• the date the decision was made
• the reasons why you want us to review the decision
• any further information that may be relevant but was not available at the time of the original decision

If at the end of a review the decision is upheld, you can appeal to a First-tier Tribunal.

To appeal a Welsh registration decision, you can lodge an appeal with the Magistrates Court within 21 days of receiving the decision. This time limit can be extended with the written agreement of BSR.

After youve registered

Once registered, you must maintain and develop your competence as a building inspector. This means you must:

• abide by the code of conduct
• continue to develop your skills and knowledge, this can be evidenced by maintaining an up-to-date portfolio of work
• complete an independent competency assessment at least every 4 years
• be supervised if you carry out work outside of your current registration class or competence

Progression

If you want to expand the range of work you are registered to do, you can do so by:

• developing your competence within your class, to work across more building categories
• passing an independent competency assessment to change your registration class

Supervision

To gain experience working on tasks outside of your current class or competence, you can carry out the work, but you must be supervised. You must be supervised by a building inspector registered to the appropriate class and competence of the work you are carrying out.

Supervision is managed by your employer. If you are self-employed, you should liaise with the building control body you are working for and arrange supervision from a suitable registered building inspector.

The work you do under supervision is assessed by your supervisor and they are accoun

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