Private building inspectors..should I be worried

teneighty

I think everyone has already covered the issue of council building control versus private approved inspector.

I just thought I would add a new dimension. Why does the OP care?

The role of the inspector is to police the work to make sure it complies with the building regulations. They are not there to oversee the work and provide consumer protection from poor workmanship. With the few inspections that they actually make it is practically impossible for them to even ensure the regulations are fully complied with hence you get blatant contraventions of the regulations incorrectly signed off by both private and public sector inspectors.

If you are worried that your building contractor maybe trying to cut corners before the work even starts I suggest you might have the wrong building contractor or maybe you should get someone to undertake contract admin/project management.

parking_question_chap

Are they giving you the option of picking the AI company?

Or are they wanting to go with a specific one?

The answer to that, should help answer the "should I be worried" question you raised.

ComicGeek

The 'red tape' should be the same for both AI and LA, they both have to abide by the same set of Building Regulations. The difference in my experience has been the response times and willingness to discuss issues, both of which the AI has won by a mile.


I can understand the honesty issue, but both AI and LA sell their services, neither are truly independent. A good builder will use a good AI/LA, so it really comes down to whether you trust the builder or not.


I've had lots of issues with turnover rates at LAs, where you never get to speak/see the same inspector twice. The regs aren't black and white, so there are some areas where the inspector's personal opinion counts - if there's a lack of consistency in a project this can really cause problems.

parking_question_chap

ComicGeek wrote: »

I can understand the honesty issue, but both AI and LA sell their services, neither are truly independent.

I dont think LA building control are allowed to make a profit due to their statutory obligations.

Whereas AI are companies and I expect with intentions of making as much profit as possible.

Accounts I have heard of certain "inspections" where AI have accepted photographs rather than actually going to the site is really concerning. Great for the builders and developers of course.

Yes, I expect LA would have much more "red tape" which is a pain, but I think if it were my loft conversion or extension I would rather it were checked thoroughly rather than quickly.

System

parking_question_chap wrote: »

I dont think LA building control are allowed to make a profit due to their statutory obligations.

Whereas AI are companies and I expect with intentions of making as much profit as possible.

Accounts I have heard of certain "inspections" where AI have accepted photographs rather than actually going to the site is really concerning. Great for the builders and developers of course.

Yes, I expect LA would have much more "red tape" which is a pain, but I think if it were my loft conversion or extension I would rather it were checked thoroughly rather than quickly.

Tbh i think that's a bit of an over generalisation and certainly doesn't reflect my experiences with both.
I've worked with AI s who are extremely thorough, to the point of having some work opened up to inspect as the builder hadn't asked him to site at the agreed time due to a change in his programming, I've also had l
Local authorities accepting photographs when they don't have the time to come to site when requested.
It's down to individual competency rather than who they work for, but ime the private side appear more competent, which as a business they have to be, to secure further work and retain accreditation...

ComicGeek

parking_question_chap wrote: »

I dont think LA building control are allowed to make a profit due to their statutory obligations.

Whereas AI are companies and I expect with intentions of making as much profit as possible.

LA departments still have targets to meet in terms of numbers of projects, and are usually understaffed. They generally have lower salaries than AIs, so the best inspectors generally migrate to AI. From the hundreds of inspectors I've dealt with over the years, the best LA inspectors have quickly joined, or started their own AI company.

There will always be regional variations, but where I work in the South east and London this has been my experience.

Annie1960

Have you already signed a contract with the builder, and if so has the work started? If so, I would be concerned that the builder has left it so late to raise this issue. This could be a high pressure technique, especially if he has given you a short time to make a decision.

If not, then in your position you could ask for the name of the private inspector, and check it out before you make a decision to ensure the person really is qualified. Although I'm sure most builders are genuine, there are some who are not, and how do you know it's not the builder's relative or mate pretending to be an inspector?

In this area, building control come out the same day if you phone before 10am - they really are very efficient. I don't know what it's like in your area, so you could ring the BC office and ask them what their system is and what delays there are. This should help you to decide if there is an advantage of going down the private route.

If it turns out that the private inspector is genuine and your council has long delays in sending their own inspectors out, then why not consider it? But I would personally check whatever register the private inspector is on to make sure they really are qualified, and ask for a copy of their public liability insurance certificate.

Although most builders are genuine, the fact there are a number of cowboys who are allowed to thrive makes consumers like us want to double check everything.

If you can appoint the private inspector and pay them directly yourself, this would be a much better option as they will be working for you, not the builder. I don't mean that you would personally call them out for inspections, the builder should do this, but they should have your interests at the top of their agenda.

Ultimately, as you are the owner of the property, it is your responsibility to ensure the paperwork is in place with the council. It is you, not the builder, who will have all the hassle and costs of sorting it out if anything goes wrong.

Finally, do you have other builders on your short-list who are not asking for this? What does your architect say about this suggestion, as they will know the local situation?

sam1970

Thank you for your reply. The builder told me from the start that he prefers to use a private inspector for ease and speed.The other two builders , one of them is a big firm, also said the same. What is persuading me to proceed is that many builders shy away from renovation work for old houses as it is easier and more profitable to build new. I actually had few builders who came to quote and never came back and stopped answering phone. I had two references for this guy and I actually went and visited a house where he did a lot of work and the owner was very happy with the results.

My plan is to hold a percentage of the payment (may be 10%) until I receive all the paper work and verify it with the council. I hope this will be enough to ensure things are done properly

Doozergirl

Agree that first. Industry standard retention is 5%. Reason being is that most money actually goes into your house and only a portion of your cost goes the the builder. 10% can very easily be half of their own wages, if not more.

Oleased to hear that you went and looked at one of their jobs!

parking_question_chap

sam1970 wrote: »

My plan is to hold a percentage of the payment (may be 10%) until I receive all the paper work and verify it with the council. I hope this will be enough to ensure things are done properly

With approved inspectors, I think the council only get notification that the work is starting and nothing more. I dont think they are going to "verify" anything for you.