Building Control Surveyor

A building control surveyor ensures that building control regulations on safety, health, energy conservation and disability access are observed in the planning and construction stages of new buildings and most property extensions and conversions. On complex projects, building control surveyors may be involved at the pre-application stage, to offer advice on design and safety issues.

Building control surveyors use their professional skill and judgment to offer advice on acceptable solutions to meet the statutory requirements of regulations. After the work has started, they make site visits at various stages to ensure that the construction is being properly carried out.

Building control surveyors advise and make judgments on building proposals. Applications are normally paper-based forms but they may also be submitted via email. Once received, surveyors check the applicant's plans to ensure that they comply with building regulations.

During the various stages of the construction process, building control surveyors conduct site inspections to check that work is being carried out satisfactorily. The applicant or the applicant's builder will inform or consult the surveyor at various stages of construction.

The work also involves: communicating with statutory bodies, e.g. highways authorities, calculating the fee to be charged to the client, keeping up to date with current regulations, providing a completion certificate when the building work is satisfactorily completed, prosecuting builders if non-compliance has occurred, although this is a last resort.

On more complex projects, the building control surveyor may be involved at the pre-application stage to advice applicants on design issues and suggest alternatives that may help to reduce the risk of delays and save costs. Building control surveyors in local government may also be involved in approving demolitions and carrying out surveys of potentially dangerous buildings.