Building Control Act, 1990

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Building control regulations.

6.—(1) The Minister may make regulations (in this Act referred to as “building control regulations”) providing for matters of procedure, administration and control for the purposes of securing the implementation of, and compliance with, the requirements of building regulations and building control regulations may make such incidental, consequential or supplementary provisions as may appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), building control regulations may make provision for all or any of the following matters—

(a) requiring—

(i) the submission to building control authorities of certificates (in this Act referred to as “certificates of compliance”) being certificates relating to compliance with the building regulations (subject to any relevant dispensation or relaxation already granted under section 4 or 5 or to any appeal under section 7 which has been allowed) prior to the commencement of, during, and after the completion of, the construction of any buildings, classes of buildings, works or classes of works, to which such building regulations apply,

(ii) in respect of a building, or buildings, of a prescribed class or classes, the submission to a building control authority of an application for a certificate (in this Act referred to as a “fire safety certificate”) that a building, if constructed in accordance with the plans, documents and information submitted, would, in the opinion of the building control authority, comply (subject to any relevant dispensation or relaxation already granted under section 4 or 5 or to any appeal under section 7 which has been allowed) with such provisions of building regulations as may be prescribed, and

(iii) in respect of the design or construction of any buildings or classes of buildings or of the carrying out of any works or classes of works to which building regulations apply, the submission to a building control authority of an application for a certificate (in this Act referred to as a “certificate of approval”) of the building control authority that in the opinion of the building control authority the design or construction of the buildings or works comply (subject to any relevant dispensation or relaxation already granted under section 4 or 5 or to any appeal under section 7 which has been allowed) with the requirements of building regulations;

(b) prescribing—

(i) the form and content of certificates of compliance, applications for fire safety certificates, fire safety certificates, applications for certificates of approval and certificates of approval,

(ii) the plans, documents and information to be submitted with certificates of compliance, applications for fire safety certificates, applications for certificates of approval and notices to which subsection (2) (k) relates, and

(iii) the time within which such certificates, applications and notices are to be submitted;

(c) the designation of the persons or the classes of persons by whom certificates of compliance may be given, and the classes of buildings or works in respect of which such certificates may be given;

(d) the granting by a building control authority of fire safety certificates and certificates of approval with or without conditions, or the refusal of such certificates;

(e) requiring a building control authority, whenever it refuses a fire safety certificate or a certificate of approval, to notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for such refusal;

(f) the registration of certificates of compliance, and of such information as may be prescribed in relation to applications for fire safety certificates, fire safety certificates, applications for certificates of approval and certificates of approval and the making available of such information to such persons as may be prescribed;

(g) prescribing the records to be kept, and the information to be provided to the Minister, by a building control authority;

(h) the charging of fees for—

(i) the registration of certificates of compliance,

(ii) the submission of applications for fire safety certificates or certificates of approval,

(iii) the provision of copies of certificates or other documents or extracts therefrom,

(iv) the carrying out of inspections and tests and the testing of samples taken pursuant to section 11 , and

(v) any other matter that the Minister considers appropriate;

(i) the combining in one document of any two or more of the following, namely, any application, notice, certificate or other document provided for in this Act, or in any regulations made thereunder, and any application, notice or other document provided for in the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, 1963 to 1983, or in any regulations made under those Acts;

(j) the exclusion from all, or any of, the provisions regarding the submission of certificates of compliance or applications for fire safety certificates or applications for certificates of approval, of such persons, bodies or buildings, or classes thereof as may be specified in the regulations;

(k) requiring the giving of notice to building control authorities of the erection of such buildings, or classes of buildings, or the carrying out of such works, or classes of works, as may be specified in the regulations.

(3) Building control regulations may make different provisions in relation to different buildings, or classes of buildings, in relation to buildings or classes of buildings situated in different areas, or in relation to different provisions of building regulations.

(4) Where a certificate of compliance, or a notice to which subsection (2) (k) relates, is submitted to a building control authority, the building control authority shall not be under a duty to any person to—

(a) ensure that the building or works to which the certificate or notice relates will, either during the course of the work or when completed, comply with the requirements of building regulations or be free from any defect,

(b) ensure that the certificate complies with the requirements of this Act or of regulations or orders made under this Act, or

(c) verify that the facts stated in the certificate are true and accurate.

(5) Where, within a period of two months beginning on the date of an application for a fire safety certificate or a certificate of approval, or within such extended period as may at any time be agreed in writing between the applicant and the building control authority, the building control authority does not notify the applicant of the decision on the application, a decision by the building control authority to grant the fire safety certificate or the certificate of approval, as the case may be, shall be regarded as having been made on the last day of the period or such extended period, as the case may be.

(6) Where an application for a dispensation from or relaxation of any requirement of building regulations is made pursuant to section 4 , or where an appeal under section 7 has been made against a decision on such application, the building control authority may defer the making of a decision in relation to the granting or, as the case may be, the refusal of a fire safety certificate or certificate of approval, in respect of the building concerned for a period not exceeding two months after the decision on the application or, as the case may be, the appeal, has been made, and subsection (5) shall be construed accordingly.