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If you fail to do this, the local authority may serve a notice requiring the person carrying out the work to do so.

Normally the notice will give you 28 days to rectify the work before the authority may enter to do the work in default, and you would be liable for the costs.

In a case Blaenau Gwent Borough Council v Sabz Ali Khan (1993) it was held that "the person carrying out the work" could be the owner if he or she authorised and commissioned the work, and did not necessarily apply solely to the person who physically carried out the work.

If you have contravened the regulations the local authority may also seek prosecution in the magistrates court where if convicted you are liable to a penalty fine.

Below are outlined the most commonly asked questions on contraventions of the Building Regulations that may be of assistance.

• What are the penalties for contravening the regulations?
• Must I put the work right?
• What if I disagree with the notice?
• Can I appeal a Section 36 Notice?
• Can the local authority legally enter my premises?

 

What are the penalties for contravening the regulations?

Section 35 of the Act says that anyone who contravenes any building regulation to which this Section applies may upon summary conviction be fined and may be subjected to a further fine on a daily basis if the default continues after conviction.

(The penalty is presently level 5 on the standard scale, up to £5000, plus £50 for each day on which each individual contravention is not put right after you have been convicted.)

Must I put the work right?

Yes. Section 36 of the Act enables the council without prejudice to their right to take legal proceedings, to require an owner to pull down or alter work, which is in contravention of the regulations.

These written notices are called 'Section 36 notices' and set out the way in which the work contravenes the regulations.

If the developer ignores a written notice the council may pull down or alter the work at the cost of the person served with the notice.

When work has been undertaken to secure compliance with these regulations the developer is required to give written notice to the local authority that the work has been done, within a reasonable time following completion of the remedy.

What if I disagree with the notice?

You can obtain and submit to the council an independent report from a suitably qualified person on the work to which the notice relates, in which case this would have the immediate affect of extending the period of the notice from 28 days to 70 days (section 37).

As a result of considering the report the council will either;

• withdraw the section 36 notice; or
• require you to comply with the notice within the 70 day period.

Can I appeal a Section 36 Notice?

Yes. Section 40 of the Act enables an appeal against a section 36 notice to be made to a magistrates court.

The court may;

• say that the council was entitled to give the notice and confirm it; or
• in every other case give the local council a direction to withdraw the notice.

Can the local authority legally enter my premises?

Yes. Section 95 of the Act gives an authorised officer of a council a right to enter premises at all reasonable hours.

Admission to premises, other than a factory or workplace, cannot be demanded as of right unless 24 hours notice of intended entry has been given to the occupier.

If access is refused the authorised person may obtain a warrant.