The oil heating body OFTEC is highlighting that changes to the Building Safety Act mean that tradespeople who persistently fail to correctly notify applicable installation work in accordance with building regulations will now face up to two years imprisonment.
The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings and many types of alteration projects, including the installation or replacement of a heating system, adding extra radiators to a heating system, or the installation or replacement of an oil tank.
There are three options to comply in England and Wales:
- Submit a building notice and obtain approval from local authority building control
- Use of a private approved building inspector
- Use a tradesperson registered with a competent person scheme
Heating technicians registered with a government approved competent person scheme, such as OFTEC, can self-certify certain building work, including heating installations. Membership of a competent person scheme is voluntary – installers can still use local authority or private approved inspectors if they prefer – but the regulations are a legal requirement.
A local authority has a duty to enforce the building regulations in its area and will seek to do so by informal means wherever possible. If compliance still isn’t achieved, the local authority has formal enforcement powers which it may use in appropriate cases.
If a person carrying out building work contravenes the Building Regulations, the local authority may prosecute them in the Magistrates’ Court where an unlimited fine may be imposed (sections 35 and 35A of the Building Act 1984). This will soon be strengthened by the Building Safety Act, with up to two-years imprisonment being added to the sanctions available to the courts. This action will usually be taken against the person carrying out the work, for example the builder, installer or main contractor.
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 (section 36 of the 1984 Act). 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.
Adrian Lightwood, OFTEC registration director, comments: “Building Regulations are primarily there to safeguard consumers and ensure that work is carried out to a satisfactory standard. The framework in place to achieve this is tried and tested.
“Competent persons schemes provide a way for heating technicians to self-certify the installation work they carry out. While other routes to compliance are available, anyone who thinks it is acceptable to work outside the Building Control system by not getting their installation work certified is letting their customers down and, potentially, breaking the law.”
OFTEC is a trade association that represents manufacturers of liquid fuel heating equipment such as boilers, cookers and oil storage tanks in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It also represents over 90 training centres. For more information, please visit www.oftec.org
