Registration deadline extended for Registered Building Inspectors

The Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) has extended the deadline for the registration of Registered Building Inspectors (“RBIs”) to 6 July 2024 following industry concerns. Ewan Anthony and Rachel Murray-Smith explain why.

Back in April 2023, the HSE set out its strategic context for the regulation of the building control framework as a result of the changes introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022. A set of principles including those of transparency, consistency and accountability are to underpin the regulatory structure. As a result, the RBI role was introduced with a supporting competence framework and Code of Conduct setting out the standards and principles expected.

RBIs are intended to provide advice to those overseeing building work, such as the Building Safety Regulator (“BSR”), local authorities or registered building control approvers. Inspectors in local authorities and Approved Inspectors are expected to transition into this new role.

The transition was initially scheduled to finish on 6 April 2024, after which only RBIs would be able to continue to work in building control. A competency assessment must also be completed in order to conduct such work without supervision, and the assessment further determines which building categories professionals can work on by assigning a ‘class’.

Concerns have been raised from across the industry with this setup, including whether there would be sufficient professionals, registered as RBIs, who had completed the required competency assessment before the deadline.

On 14 March 2024, Philip White, Director of Building Safety for the HSE, explained in his open letter to the industry that experienced building control professionals, (who are not trainees) but have not yet completed a competence assessment, will have the scope of their registration temporarily extended from 6 April 2024 to 6 July 2024. An individual will be eligible for the extension provided that:

• They are an existing building control professional;
• They are registered as a Class 1 RBI by 6 April 2024 (this class requires registration with the BSR, but not a competency assessment);
• They are enrolled in, and are in the process of, having their competency assessed through a BSR approved competency assessment scheme by 6 April 2024; and
• A scheme provider has not told them that they have not passed their competency assessment for a second time.

During this period, the scope of the relevant professionals’ registration will be extended, and they will be able to continue to undertake building control work for the class of RBI for which they are undertaking a competency assessment. The professional must then pass their assessment and upgrade their class to continue working on projects in categories above class 1 by 6 July 2024. Otherwise, they will not be able to continue to work on regulated building control activities without supervision.

The extension has been welcomed by industry professionals and we are continuing to track the guidance and information being published on this area as well as other significant changes being implemented as a result of the Building Safety Act 2022.

Ewan Anthony is a Trainee Solicitor and Rachel Murray-Smith is a Partner at Sharpe Pritchard LLP.

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