Building works carried out without statutory consent - 1959 Act
The Building Control Service on behalf of the Local Authority is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the requirements of Section 10 of the Building (Scotland) Act in respect of buildings constructed without warrant or in contravention of conditions of warrant, and buildings whose limited life has expired.
Failure to comply with such a Notice and subsequent Order may result in the Service executing the necessary works and recovering all expenses from the relevant party. However, wherever possible, the Service attempts to resolve an issue of this nature through discussion rather than immediately instigating statutory action.
Should you wish to deviate from the approved Building Warrant, you should always contact the Service prior to undertaking any works. Failure to do so may result in expense in rectifying works to achieve compliance with the building regulations, or delays in issuing a Certificate of Completion.
If you believe works have been carried out without a Building Warrant, contact the Service and we will investigate and advise you on the course of action required to rectify the matter. One option may be to apply for a 'Letter of Comfort'. (see below)
'Letters of Comfort'
The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 and it's predecessor, The Building (Scotland) Act 1959 both require that a Warrant is granted prior to any building or demolition work being undertaken. However property owners, or previous owners, sometimes carry out works without approval. This usually causes problems when the property is to be sold, because as part of the conveyancing process, a lawyer requests copies of the Building Warrant and/or Completion Certificate relating to the works. Where neither of these documents is available, a ‘Letter of Comfort’ may be issued by the Service, which is generally acceptable to the legal profession.
Only works completed before 1st May 2005 will be considered for a 'Letter of Comfort'. For works completed after this date please refer to the Guidance Notes below for further information.
At the discretion of this authority, the Service will undertake a non-disruptive inspection of the work, with regard to the health and safety of people in and around the building.
The Service aims to respond to 90% of applications within 6 working days of receipt to arrange to carry out an inspection. Please note that the inspection may result in the need for remedial works to be undertaken by the applicant before the ‘Letter of Comfort’ can be issued. Failure to instigate remedial action may result in statutory action being taken by the Service.
Following the inspection, and the applicant undertaking any necessary remedial work, the Service will issue a ‘Letter of Comfort’ stating that the Service does not intend to take any statutory action in respect of the unauthorised works.
The Service aims to issue 90% of ‘Letters of Comfort’ within 3 working days of any matters requiring attention being satisfactorily completed.