Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring as-built specifications to be lodged as a condition of building control completion for new homes.

For buildings below 18m, the Building Regulations 2010 already take a proportionate approach to requirements for as-built specifications. Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations 2010 requires that a person carrying out building work involving the erection or extension of a building to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies must handover relevant fire safety information to the responsible person for the building. The requirements of regulation 38 must be satisfied before a completion certificate can be given. The Government recently closed a consultation on requirements for plan approval in new dwellings, but this did not include consideration of extending regulation 38 or requiring full as-built plans for new dwellings. A response will be issued later this year.

For residential buildings that are 18m or above, the client must provide information to the Building Safety Regulator as part of their completion certificate application. Completion certificate applications must include documents that reflect the ‘as-built’ building together with confirmation that the building work complies with building regulations. This includes drawings and plans of the as-built building. This information forms part of the ‘golden thread’ must be maintained throughout design and construction and handed over to the building owner to help them manage building safety risks when the building is in use.