2.I.v. Enforcement systems new buildings – OVERVIEW

According to Art. 15 (1) of the Austrian Federal Constitutional Law, matters relating to building law generally fall under the jurisdiction of the federal states. The local building police are administered by the municipalities in their own sphere. In most cases, new buildings are subject to approval. In this context, it seems important to note that the majority of construction activities in Austria may only be carried out by one of the persons authorised according to the regulations governing the profession. Through their training, these authorised persons (traders) are also trained in the building regulations, checked and continuously informed of any changes. This ensures that only legally compliant construction activities are carried out. All new buildings and additions and conversions, as well as structural changes and repair work, and all construction activities in general are completed by a review carried out by an independent test engineer or similar. The authorities will be informed of the outcome of this review. It should be noted that building systems fall under building regulations as well as special laws for heating and air conditioning systems, whereby the associated work may only be carried out by authorised persons (traders) as per the regulations for the exercise of the profession. This, in turn, ensures compliance with the construction regulations.

The enforcement of building codes starts with the building permit which will be used to determine requirements depending on the use of the building and its characteristics.

Together with the building permit, the EPB advisor must submit, for approval, an EPB proposal. This proposal includes all the projects’ details and states if it is compliant with the regulation regarding EPB requirements.

When construction works start, a notification must be sent to the administration.

During construction, the EPB advisor supervises compliance with the EPB requirements on the construction site and collects evidence that all necessary measures to achieve EPB requirements are implemented.

At the end of the construction phase, the EPB declaration and software file must be sent to the administration. All acceptable evidence must be attached to the declaration.

The administration will control the declaration using the provided evidence (photos, technical files, etc.) and in case the requirements are not being met, may apply a fine.

The Flemish Energy Agency checks compliance with the procedures (submitting, to a central database, a calculation of the energy performance at the start of the process and again at the as-built stage) and compares the results with the requirements. In case of non-compliance with the procedures, the builder receives a warning to submit the calculation to the central database. The central database then automatically checks if each individual building meets all the requirements. The compliance rate of new buildings with the E-level is very high (> 99%), as it is for most other requirements. For the ventilation requirements, the compliance rate is lower, whereas the systematic tightening of the requirements on E-level has not led to a decrease of the high compliance rate.

The number of non-compliance cases had stabilised since 2009 but has been rising again in more recent years (Figure 16). Because of the low numbers of declarations available in these years, it is not yet clear whether this is a trend and the rise could be linked to other uncertainties. Since 2016, the performance of ventilation systems in residential buildings has to meet the requirements of a new quality-assurance scheme. The aim is to significantly lower the number of non-compliant ventilation systems. Those responsible for buildings that, after being warned, do not comply with the procedures, or that do not meet the requirements, receive an administrative fine (Table 4).

Figure 16. The share of energy performance declarations with an administrative fine for non-compliance per year (application of building permit).

Table 4. Administrative sanctions for infringements of procedures regarding energy performance requirements.

The Flemish Energy Agency also checks a building sample on the quality of the as-built calculations. In 2018, 52 calculations were checked, and in 2019, 160 calculations were checked. In order to further improve the quality of the reports, experts must attend periodic additional education as of 2015. In 2016, 3,453 experts were suspended, most of them non-active experts who did not attend any educational courses. The number of active experts has dropped every year since 2013 and has seemingly stabilised since 2016 to around 800. However, a small but growing group of 180 experts are very active and were responsible for 87% of all declarations in 2020.

Before starting the construction works, the 'Initial EPB statements' are systematically (100%) checked by the municipal officials who issue the building permits. The statement must comply in order to receive the permit.

The EPB service of the Walloon administration⁶ has several controllers who carry out regulatory oversight. The 'Final EPB statements' are automatically and digitally screened and a statistically representative number are picked for human control. A certain number of controls also occur due to complaints (e.g.: from the buyer of turnkey housings).

A 'Control web' application is used to automatically screen all the EPCs submitted to the database by flagging inconsistent data or out-of-range values and select EPCs to be controlled.

The Walloon EPB service performs different types of controls (See Table 3):

• Administrative controls: on basis of the 'Initial EPB statements' in the database, controllers check if the corresponding 'Final EPB statements' have actually been submitted in due time in the database.
• Technical 'Improvement' controls: the 'Final EPB statement' is checked and, if necessary, corrected with the corresponding impact on the building’s requirements.
  The goal here is only to improve the knowledge of experts; no sanction is given.
• Technical 'Full' controls: the 'Final EPB statement' is checked and, if necessary, corrected with the corresponding impact on the building’s requirements.
  In case of significant error, the EPB expert in called for a hearing.
  In case of proven fraud, a sanction is given.

When an expert is contacted within the framework of a control, the type of control is immediately specified.

Sanctions for new buildings cases are the following:

• A fine: starting from 250€ to 25,000€ per building unit, doubled in case of recurrence.
  Mean amount: 3,000€, which is generally higher than the mean expert’s fee for a case.
• Suspension of accreditation: fine as above + the software account of the expert is blocked until they undertake the mandatory training + examination again. The suspended expert may not finish initiated EPB statements.
• Withdrawal of accreditation: fine as above + the software account of the expert is blocked. They can no longer act as an EPB expert for new buildings and must wait three (3) years before being allowed to retake the mandatory training + examination.

To date, no suspension or withdrawal of accreditation has been imposed to EPB experts for new buildings. Such a decision must be taken by the Minister of Energy and this has never been the case so far.

Table 3. Number of EPB statements checked by the regional administration.

No data available

The construction of new buildings may commence only based on a building permit. The application for building permit shall be submitted by the investor to the competent office for construction and physical planning in the place where construction or some reconstruction of a buildings is planned. Since April 2014, the request can be submitted in electronic form. As of 31 December 2019, all new buildings must be designed as NZEB according to the Technical regulation on energy savings and thermal protection in buildings (OG 128/2015, 70/2018, 73/2018, 86/2018, 102/2020).

A completed or reconstructed building may be used or put into operation, and a decision may be issued for performing activities in that construction work pursuant to a special act only after a use permit has been issued for the construction work.

In case of suspicion that a building was built in breach of the legal provisions, that is, without a valid building permit or having no main design certificate, having more than the permitted number of stores, etc., this can be reported to the building inspection of the State Inspectorate. If inspection discovers procedural violations of laws and/or regulations, administrative proceedings shall be instituted and taking of necessary measures ordered, including any penal provisions set in relevant regulations.

The MECI checks implementation of minimum energy performance requirements through random on-site visits of the construction sites by appointed inspectors. In the case where appointed inspectors find a lack of compliance with minimum requirements, the building owner is notified of the infringement and a deadline is given to comply. If the building owner does not comply within the deadline, then legal action is taken. From 2015 to 2019 1,330 buildings have been inspected.

As already mentioned, Decree No. 264/2020 Coll. sets the minimum reference energy efficiency and other values for technical building systems and an average U-value for the building envelope. Compliance with these requirements is subject to control by the State Energy Inspection that controls the issued EPCs. A penalty can be imposed if the values given in the EPC do not conform with the minimum values set in the decree.

When a new building is planned and before construction works can start, the building owner applies for a building permit. The municipality is responsible for issuing building permits. In the building permit, the geometry of the building needs to be documented, but information about the technical building systems are not requested in the planning phase. After the building is finished, the building owner or advisor will send in documentation for the building's fulfilment of the building regulations.

The municipality does not need to check the correctness of all documentation, but they must check that all required documentation is available. In 10 % of the building projects, the municipality must check all documentation in detail.

If there are any uncertainties around the fulfilment of the building regulations, the municipality can advise the building owner on how to meet the requirements.

Since August 2019, the first EPC energy efficiency calculations need to be performed before applying for a building permit. The EPC will be calculated based on the preliminary design stage of the building, and will indicate the future energy need of the building which can not be higher than the minimum requirements. Before applying for a use permit, control calculations are made based on the real building materials and appliances installed in the building. If necessary, a new EPC is provided. This is part of the permit process managed and controlled by local municipalities.

The Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA) control of EPCs is based on random selection. CPTRA also provides building permits for national defence and security agency buildings and EPCs are checked on these cases also.

The legislation controlling land use, spatial planning and construction in Finland is contained in the Land Use and Building Act, which came into force in 2000 and was partly changed in 2017. The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for the general steering and monitoring of construction in Finland. It issues legislation on construction and maintains the National Building Code of Finland.

The National Building Code contains regulations and guidelines that complement the legislation in the Land Use and Building Act. The building regulations must be followed, but building guidelines are not obligatory, and other solutions may be used in construction, as long as all the compulsory regulations are observed.

Each municipality is responsible for the steering and monitoring of construction in its area. The building ordinance is the municipalities' primary tool for controlling construction. This ordinance lays down regulations and instructions corresponding to local conditions.

Each municipality must have a building inspector, who provides advice on and monitors construction.

The local building inspector must approve the construction process on site at key points, such as marking the building position, structural inspection, plumbing inspection, partial handover inspection (at this point the building must have a maintenance manual), and final inspection. Other inspections vary according to municipal practices.

National building regulations pursue two general goals: people safety and well-being as well as energy and environmental performance. Two kinds of controls have been introduced to verify regulation enforcement all along the building process:

1. Technical control operated by competent authorities accredited by the government.
   The environmental inspectors are responsible for controlling compliance with environmental rules, e.g., for rules concerning heating and cooling systems. With their request for a building permit, project owners have to attest that their project is compliant with the requirements on B_bio. They have to transmit another attestation upon completion of the building, proving that the constructed building is compliant with the whole thermal regulation. This second attestation is to be signed by a recognised professional.
2. Construction regulation control operated by the State
   Finally, the State operates a construction regulation control by sending technical officers to inspect a sample of buildings up to 6 years after their completion. They control compliance with the accessibility, security, ventilation, acoustics, energy performance, seismic and termites’ rules. This control is very useful for the government to observe the difficulties and practices on the field.

Failure to comply with the law can lead to economic and juridical sanctions.

The federal states (Bundesländer) are responsible for the enforcement of the Energy Saving Act (EnEG), the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) and the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG). Therefore, it is impossible to present a homogeneous enforceability rule. 

In order to issue a building permit for a new or extensively renovated existing building or building unit, an Energy Performance Study (MEA) of the building must be prepared and submitted according to Law 4495/2017 (A '167) article 2, par. 25. The Energy Performance Study documents that the building meets the technical specifications and minimum energy efficiency requirements of a nearly zero-energy consumption building. Following the inspections of its Building Auditors (Law 4495/2017) and in order to issue the Construction Inspection Certificate (PEC), a necessary prerequisite is the issue of the EPC of the building by an energy auditor. The EPC of the building or building unit is submitted and registered electronically at the Ministry Building Inspection database, and a copy is submitted to the relevant Service Construction agency, accompanied by a report of the energy auditor for the fulfilment, or lack thereof, of the minimum requirements for the structural elements of the envelope and the technical building systems of the building or building unit, as well as of the energy category identified in the Energy Performance Study.

The Energy Performance Study should include information regarding:

1. The technical, environmental and economic feasibility of installing alternative high efficiency power supply systems, if available;
2. The necessary measures to ensure a healthy indoor climate;
3. The examination of passive and active fire protection conditions;
4. The assessment of risks that may affect the building’s static adequacy.

Simplified notification for residential buildings¹²

The 155/2016. (VI. 13.) Government Regulation ensured complete electronic administration of the notification and requested continuous electronic documentation of constructions.

The updated legislation is in force since October 2019 and allows for certain constructions a simplified notification without opening an electronic construction file. The simplified notification must be entered into the electronic documentation system of the building authorities. The notification, which must contain the coordinates of the building site, the short description of the construction and the contact details of the architectural and technical designer, must confirm that the purpose of the construction is for housing.

The construction supervisory authority mandatorily checks every notification on the electronic documentation system and sends a notification only if the documentation is insufficient; it does not check the contents and their correctness. The competent building inspectorate notifies the Chamber of Engineers and the Chamber of Architects, the persons concerned and the mayor of the municipality where the site is located about the construction.

Building permit procedure¹³

The current 312/2012. (XI. 8) Government regulation on the building and construction supervision authority procedures and inspections, as well as the building authority service entered into force on 1 January 2013, together with the comprehensive transformation of the building authority system. The application for a building permit must contain a complete documentation. While assessing an application, the building authority must perform an on-site inspection to verify the correctness of the documentation. The application can be refused if it does not comply with the legal requirements and /or if the mayor does not see it adequate to the settlement’s image. The decision shall be communicated in writing and must be registered in the electronic documentation system of the building authorities.

The Building Regulations apply equally to all Local Authorities. There are 31 Local Authorities in Ireland designated as Building Control Authorities who monitor compliance with Building Regulations in their area having regard to:

• the minimum requirements for the design and construction of buildings as set out in the Building Regulations;
• detailed Technical Guidance Documents showing how these requirements can be achieved in practice;
• procedures set out in the Building Control Regulations for demonstrating compliance in respect of an individual building or works.

Building Control Authorities have strong powers of inspection and enforcement under the Acts. Responsibility for compliance rests with the owner of the proposed building or works, and with any builder or designer engaged by the owner.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is responsible for the administration of the building energy rating scheme including the quality checks for published EPCs. Enforcement to ensure that a valid EPC is in place on construction, sale or rental lies with the Local Authorities.

In 2014, Italy published its first National Infrastructural Plan for recharging electric vehicles (PNIRE) which contains indications on how to promote electro-mobility by means of prescription as well as how to put in Local Mobility Plans and specific requirements for new parking areas (public and private ones).

By transposing Directive 2014/94/EU (Legislative Decree 257/2016), PNIRE has been updated and actions to promote electro-mobility have become more stringent, mandating municipalities to modify their building codes.

The Decree established that in new residential buildings with almost ten (10) dwellings, the installation of ducting infrastructure (namely conduits for electric cables) should guarantee a percentage of parking spaces for electric vehicles almost equal to 20% of total car parking spaces; this percentage becomes 100% in case of new (first-level major renovation) non-residential buildings with a total useful floor area over 500 m².

According to Directive 844/2018, Italian law will introduce further specific regulations for the installation and requirements of charging points of electric vehicles. Municipalities should ensure the integration of charging points in the buildings, updating their building code. To obtain a building permit for residential and non-residential buildings, new or undergoing first-level major renovation, it will be mandatory to include in the project the installation of ducting infrastructure for a certain number of recharging points. All the requirements will be defined in the piece of legislation transposing Directive 844/2018/EU.

According to the Construction Law (Section 12, Paragraph 3, Clause 1), the Construction Board, in accordance with its competence, controls the construction process and its compliance with the requirements of this Law and other construction regulatory enactments. Moreover, the Construction Law (Section 19, Paragraph 6) provides that the construction supervisor shall be responsible for the supervision of the entire construction process and shall control each construction stage as is specified in the construction supervision plan. Such control shall be performed on the construction site within the time limits provided for in the relevant plan. The supervisor shall also ensure that the construction, or part thereof, fulfils the requirements set by the initiator, the Construction Law and any other relevant regulatory enactments. Construction supervisors are civilly liable for infringements, and their professional practice is supervised by the accredited national institution.

In addition, input data values (values of building codes) used in the process of building certification are supervised through energy performance of buildings independent experts.

The construction of a new building as well as the modification of an existing building requires a building permit to be issued by the municipality in which the building is to be constructed. To decide whether a building application is acceptable, the mayor checks whether the building project is in compliance with the rules prescribed by the building codes. This check includes compliance with energy performance requirements. The mayors also act as the building police in the sense that they are responsible for ensuring that constructions conform to the building permit. In this role, the mayor can order building inspections to verify the conformity of the building.

To support the municipalities in verifying the aspects of energy performance in building applications, myenergy offers a series of checklists⁶.

Following a process where changes to the construction industry were planned and evaluated with particular reference to regulatory functions, the Building and Construction Agency was set up in 2019. The agency incorporated the functions of developing and enforcing building regulations as well as licencing contractors into one entity. The transitory Building Regulation Agency was succeeded by the Building and Construction Authority.

The Building and Construction Authority has recruited several new officers to reinforce the enforcement of regulations, with the number of officers actually carrying out duties on-site having doubled over the period of 2019-2020. Enforcement has further been strengthened through the provision of training.

Enforcement of the Building Regulations is based on a system where the Authority has the ability to oversee the correct implementation of building regulations, including energy. Responsibility for the correct implementation of buildings’ energy performance is delegated to building professionals.

A project developer has to demonstrate full compliance with the Building Decree (including energy performance requirements) to receive a building permit for a new building or a major renovation. Compliance is checked and permits are issued by local municipalities before construction.

 Systematic monitoring and enforcement are carried out by the same local municipality that issued the permit.

Municipalities are responsible for compliance checking also during construction. In case of non-compliance, they issue a “cease-work” order that remains valid until the requirements are met. As such, there are no financial penalties. Buildings that do not comply do not get built, and if builders deviate, construction is ceased until it is in line with the permit.

In 2022, the ’Quality Assurance Act for building’ will enter into force for housing and other small buildings (Class 1)⁷. Private quality assessors will monitor the building activities. Afterwards, they will produce a commissioning dossier to the local municipality (or the regional environment service), showing that the new building fulfils the requirements of the Building Decree. For more complex buildings (Class 2 and up), the situation remains the same as it was.

Quality control concerning the energy performance of buildings (according to the new NTA 8800) will be performed under the assessment directive BRL9500 (BeoordelingsRichtLijn 9500).

The building code requires all actors involved in the planning, construction and control phases to be certified according to the complexity of the project. A company is certified when it can document internal systems and competence according to what is required. As part of the construction process, the builder is obliged to document the building according to the national requirements.

The authority to control new buildings lies with the municipality. All builders have to send checklists and some other documents to the municipalities before construction starts and afterwards. The municipalities will give permission to start the construction and place the building into use if the checklists and documents fulfil the criteria. In addition, the municipalities can control documents that are not sent to the municipality, as well as the building site or the finished building. This control is a random sampling and only a few percent of the buildings are controlled.

Control of the construction process is carried out by authorised bodies: architectural and building administration and building supervision. Both bodies operate within the combined public administration, with construction supervision authorities organised in the form of separate inspectorates at the county and voivodship level (regional level).

This division of public administration in construction is being supervised by The Chief Inspector of Building Supervision according to Art. 84 section 1 of the Construction Law. The tasks of building supervision authorities include:

• control of compliance with and application of the provisions of the Construction Law;
• control of architectural and building administration bodies;
• research into the causes of construction disasters;
• cooperation with national control bodies.

In accordance with Art. 84a section 2 of the Construction Law, construction supervision authorities are also authorised to examine the correctness of administrative proceedings conducted by architectural and construction administration authorities and their issued decisions. In accordance with Art. 84a section 2 point 2 of the Construction Law, construction supervision authorities also check the fulfilment of obligations arising from decisions issued on the basis of the provisions of the Construction Law, both by these authorities, as well as by architectural and building administration authorities.

The Chief Inspector of Building Supervision can control both the district head (county) and the voivode (local council). In turn, the voivodship construction supervision inspector only has control over the staroste (the local council), which is dictated by the fact that the voivode is the superior authority over the voivodship construction supervision inspector as part of fusing government administration in the voivodship.

The Portuguese legislation prescribes an urbanistic operation, meaning the construction of new buildings or the renovation of existing ones, where buildings must go through a licensing process to check compliance with national and local regulations in the corresponding local authority (typically the municipality). Within this process, all design plans must be executed by an approved designer (architect and engineer) and submitted to the municipality which is checking the project’s compliance mainly at an administrative level.

It is up to the designer to guarantee that the design plan reflects correctly and fulfils the requirements which are laid down in the legislation. The designer issues a responsibility statement that accompanies the design plan (which can include potential constrains when fulfilling a certain requirement – typically renovations). All these are evaluated by the local authority that can accept or refuse the design plans, making it necessary to introduce changes in the process for the later.

Whenever the urbanistic operation targets the construction of a new building or a major renovation an EPC must be issued. The qualified expert issues the EPC for the design phase (which serves as a pre-certification), and also checks compliance of the design plans with the minimum energy performance requirements. This provides an added layer of compliance assessment from the experts, which can also include improvements to be implemented during the construction phase. If the building is not compliant, the expert does not issue an EPC, thereby making it impossible to get a building construction permit.

A similar process occurs upon completion of the construction. The engineer or architect responsible for the construction issues a responsibility statement assuring that the construction is completed according to the design plans, and the qualified expert performs an on-site visit to check the necessary information to issue the EPC, reflecting eventual changes implemented during the construction phase. If everything is compliant, the municipality issues the building use permit.

Qualified experts typically are architects or engineers with more than 5 years’ experience, and their contacts are available on the EPC web portal⁷.

The basic law for construction is the Building Act 50/1976⁶, as amended, to which the special Act 555/2005⁷ on the energy performance of buildings is related. The Building Code requires compliance with the basic requirements for constructions and defines general technical requirements. The energy performance of buildings requirements should be taken into account.

The Building Code sets the requirements and conditions for achieving a building permit, which is issued by the building authorities for new constructions and renovations (changes for existing buildings). The Building Code stipulates the obligation of the builder/owner of a residential building (multi-family apartment building or single-family house) to submit an EPC for the building approval procedure. In the case of non-residential buildings, the owner is required to submit the EPC to the building authority within 6 months after construction completion at the latest.

The design documentation prepared as an annex to the building permit application must include the project energy assessment. The designer is required to prove in the design documentation for the building permit the assumption of meeting the requirements for energy performance. The designer must submit the result of the EPB calculations in the technical report for the design documentation. The Act on EPB defines the conditions that result from the implementation of the EPBD.

According to the Building Act (2017), construction includes the design, permitting and construction of facilities, i.e., buildings, civil engineering, or other construction interventions. The building is a result of construction, finishing or installation works and consists of construction products, other products, or natural materials, together with permanently installed installations and devices.

To protect public interest, all facilities must comply with spatial implementation acts and regulations on spatial planning, meet the requirements of construction, technical and other regulations, and be registered. Compliance with the above is the responsibility of investors, designers, competent administrative bodies, supervisors and contractors.

Inspection supervision over the implementation of the provisions of the Building Act relating to construction for which a building permit is prescribed shall be performed by state construction inspectors.

Inspection control over construction for which a building permit is not prescribed by the Building Act, in the part relating to compliance with spatial implementation acts and other regulations of the municipality, is performed within the original competence of the municipality by municipal inspectors or joint municipal inspectors operating within the joint municipal administration.

Inspection supervision over the implementation of the provisions of the Building Act in the part relating to the fulfilment of essential and other requirements that fall within the scope of work of other ministries shall be performed by inspectors operating in the corresponding ministries, unless otherwise provided by law.

No data available.

The parties responsible for building compliance are the developer and its representatives, the (certified) inspection manager, and the local municipal building council.

Compliance includes verification of the building's compliance to energy performance requirements. Verification can be based on calculation or measurement of actual energy data, in either way adjusted to normal use (BEN). Measurement is recommended in the BBR. The verification can be done with the help of an EPC. An EPC is issued by a certified energy expert. The EPC can also be based on calculated or measured data.

The municipal control includes all building regulations. In case the mandatory requirements are not met, the municipality can prohibit the use of the building or fine the developer until compliance is reached.

A local authority has a general duty to enforce the Building Regulations in its area and will seek to do so by informal means wherever possible. If informal enforcement does not achieve compliance with the Regulations, the local authority may prosecute usually the builder, installer or main contractor and impose an unlimited fine. Alternatively, or in addition, the local authority may serve an enforcement notice on the building owner requiring alteration or removal of work which contravenes the Regulations. If the owner does not comply with the notice, the local authority has the power to undertake the work itself and recover the costs of doing so from the owner. Where an approved inspector is authorised to provide the building control service instead of the local authority, the approved inspector does not have formal enforcement powers. In a situation where the approved inspector considers building work does not comply with the Building Regulations and there is a refusal to bring it into compliance, the approved inspector will cancel the initial notice. If no other approved inspector takes on the work, the building control function will automatically be taken on by the local authority who has the enforcement powers set out above²¹.

Enforcement of the requirements of the Building Regulations are similar to England, using Building Control Bodies (BCBs) and “Competent Persons”. See England report for details.

Building Regulations “plans applications” are submitted to local District Councils for checking and enforcement. Plans applications must be submitted prior to or upon commencement of building work or a material change of use. Building Control Officers from District Councils check compliance and provide a plans approval. Those responsible for the work must notify District Councils at key stages of works, such as prior to commencement or covering up of works, in order to enable District Council Officers to carry out any necessary site inspections.

District Councils have wide enforcement powers under the Building Regulations regime, including powers of entry and inspection, powers to require submission of plans, and powers to issue contravention notices and to take legal proceedings to ensure rectification of non-compliant work. Fines may be issued and “per diem” (per day) fines may be applied by the courts for as long as a contravention continues. Where the Council has taken all reasonable measures and is content that the requirements of the Building Regulations have been met, a Building Regulations completion certificate is issued on building completion.

A building warrant enforcement notice may be required:

• for ongoing work without a warrant, that a building warrant be obtained;
• for completed work without a warrant, that a completion certificate be submitted and the verifiers acceptance obtained;
• for work not carried out in accordance with the warrant, that the work be altered to comply with the warrant or that an amendment of warrant covering the changes be obtained; or
• for a limited-life building that has not been demolished, that a warrant for the demolition be obtained and the building be demolished.

The enforcement notice will specify a date by which these actions must be completed. Work may be suspended until the terms of the enforcement notice are satisfied.

If, by the specified completion date, the relevant person has not met the requirements of the enforcement notice, that person is guilty of an offence.  The Local Authority may then carry out necessary remedial work to make the work compliant and the Local Authority can recover the costs of the remedial works from the relevant person.