Apply for Building Control

We check your plans meet the building regulations and then, when you start, we inspect the building work on site.

This is the most thorough option as we check your plans to ensure your building work will comply with the Building Regulations.

You will need to submit detailed drawings/plans and constructional details. The plans will be checked by our building control surveyors who will contact you, or your representing agent if further information or amendments are required.

Following our initial assessment, you can expect a decision (i.e. we will approve, conditionally approve or reject your plans) within five weeks (or within two months with your consent). We aim to make a decision even sooner than if we have all the information we need and our queries are promptly answered.

We then inspect the building work on site as the work progresses.

Fees are payable in two parts for a full plans application:

• the 'plan charge' – you pay this when you submit your application
• the 'inspection charge' - invoiced to the person named as applicant/owner following our first inspection of the project. 

At the end of the project, as long as the building work complies with the regulations, we issue a completion certificate.  

You can start work two days after your notice has been submitted. You do not get a formal decision like you do with full plans applications as we do not carry out an assessment of your plans. 

We inspect the building work on site as the work progresses. At the end of the project, as long as the building work complies with the regulations, we issue a completion certificate.

For commercial properties or works that are to be built close to or over a sewer, you must apply for a Full Plans application.

You need to pay for your building notice application when you submit your application.

A 'regularisation' or retrospective approval is for work already carried out without an application or approval under the Building Regulations.  We will inspect the work carried out and will advise if any further work is required. Sometimes work may need to be uncovered so we can be sure of how it was installed. Only work carried out after 11 November 1985 can be approved in this way. 

As long as we can see the building work complied with the regulations, we will issue a Regularisation certificate.

You need to pay for your regularisation application when you submit your application.

The building control function can be delivered by your Local Authority or through Approved Inspectors (now called Registered Building Control Approvers). They submit an Initial Notice to the Council. The Council does not control the work, and responsibility for building control is with the Approved Inspector. Approval of the work is also subject to the Approved Inspector's control.

All Registered Building Control Approvers must be registered with the Building Safety Register (BSR) to carry out the building control function. You can check the status of their approval and registration and class of inspector here.

If they are no longer registered, or subject to penalties from the BSR so they can no longer carry out their building control function, the work reverts back to the Local Authority.

The Approved Inspector or the person carrying out the works (this is the person named on the Initial Notice) must cancel the Initial Notice submitted to the Council.

If work has already commenced, the work must, by law be passed back to the Council to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations.

What happens if my RBCA loses their registration?

The initial notice must be cancelled in the first instance. If the works were commenced, then the building control function should be reverted back to us. Either you (if named on the Initial Notice as the person carrying out the work) or the Approved Inspector can cancel the notice. 

I can't get hold of the Approved Inspector and they haven't cancelled my initial notice, how do I cancel my initial notice?

Initial notices can be cancelled by submitting a Form 11. This can be found here. Please complete and return to buildingcontrol@waverley.gov.uk

My Initial Notice has been cancelled, what happens next?

You need to complete and submit a Reversion Application. Send also any plans, documents, inspection notes, photos etc of the works undertaken. We will review this, and confirm the fee. (Please note, in some cases, the fee will be determined following a site inspection, as we need to understand the amount of work to be completed.)

What happens next?

We will continue inspecting the building work until completion. Once satisfied the building work demonstrates compliance with the Building Regulations, a completion certificate will be issued.