Registered building inspectors; building types and conflicts of interest updates

[edit] What has changed?

Since 6 April 2024, it is a prosecutable offence to work as a building inspector without being registered, as is carrying out work if not registered to do so without supervision. As such, the role is now referred to as a registered building inspector (RBI), which is in effect a new role created under the Building Safety Act 2022. It involves an assessment of competencies to register under certain classes and for certain building types. As of the beginning of May, guidance on building types, such as standard and non-standard buildings, was added. On May 29, guidance on conflicts of interest was also added, and individuals must not undertake work or continue to undertake work where a conflict of interest is identified.

The guidance further defines a conflict of interest as being:

Political, such as holding the position of councillor in the area you are allocated to complete a building project.
Financial, such as ownership in a company you are called to inspect.
Relationships, such as completing or contributing to building control work with a friend or relative
Personal, such as not wanting a certain type of building near your home.

Inspectors must take steps to identify potential and actual conflicts of interest prior to starting work and during work activity. If a conflict of interest is identified, the involved parties must notify their employer immediately.

There are different building inspector competence frameworks for different countries of work, such as the building inspector competence framework for England or the building inspector competence framework for Wales. Different competencies are also required for different building types, and accordingly, there are different registration classes for inspectors. The competence frameworks set out the skills, knowledge, and qualifications required for registering an application to work on certain buildings under a certain class.

There are standard buildings (designed and constructed from common industry recognised standards and codes) and non-standard buildings as well as 8 different building categories which are:

Category A, a residential dwelling house for a single household, less than 7.5 metres in height
Category B, residential flats and dwelling houses, less than 11 metres in height
Category C, residential flats and dwelling houses, 11m or more but less than 18m in height
Category D, all building types and uses, less than 7.5 metres in height, excluding non-standard buildings
Category E, all building types, 7.5 metres + but less than 11 metres in height, excluding non-standard buildings
Category F, all building types 11 metres or more but less than 18 metres in height
Category G, all building types, inc. standard and non-standard but excluding higher-risk, with no height limit
Category H, all building types, including higher-risk

Class 1, must only work under supervision. A competency assessment is not required to register as a class 1 building inspector. This class is suitable for anyone new to the profession, undergoing training.
Class 2, can work unsupervised on building categories they are registered to work on, which may include: category A, B, C, D, E, and F.
Class 3, can work unsupervised on building categories they are registered to work on, which may include category A to F buildings and: category G and H.
Class 4 technical manager. Technical managers are class 2 or class 3 building inspectors with additional responsibilities for the technical management of teams and processes.

NOTE: A class 2 building inspector, who is also a class 4 technical manager, cannot carry out any class 3 activities unless supervised. Someone who is not a registered building inspector can administratively manage a building control team, but not on technical matters.