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Survey: Property owners unsure when to check home improvements with council
03/11/09
Edited by Andy Jowett. Some 45 per cent of British households are unaware that they need to inform their local authority's building control office when they carry out home improvements, a new poll has found.
The survey by the National Association for Professional Inspectors and Testers (Napit) indicated that a further five per cent were aware that they need to check the work complies with Building Regulations, but do not make the effort.
Napit said work that needs to be checked can range from internal improvements such as adding spotlights, extractor fans or shaving sockets in a bathroom to external jobs like wiring in a hot tub or adding electric lights to a garden or shed.
The association added that residential property owners can protect themselves from potential breaches of the Building Regulations by hiring local electricians and plumbers who are members of government-approved schemes that allow them to self-certify their work.
Examples of these groups include the Gas Safe Register, which is a compulsory competent persons scheme for anyone working on gas installations and appliances.
