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Obtaining building warrant

Building work

Building work can start once your building warrant has been approved. If you start without a building warrant, you are committing an offence. You must follow the key stages set out in your Construction Compliance Notification Plan (CCNP):

About CCNP

A CCNP will have been issued along with your approval pack. This should be stored in an easily accessible space and reviewed regularly throughout the project. Your CCNP indicates when you should notify us that the site is ready for an inspection at each key stage. Please contact your case surveyor by email or phone when your project is ready for inspection, notifications of the relevant stage should be made a few days in advance to help the inspector coordinate their diary. Failure to notify, may result in investigative inspections at the completion inspection. This is to demonstrate compliance with the building regulations.

The number and type of inspections we need to do depend on the type of work you are undertaking and the associated risk.

We encourage you to take regular photos throughout the build project to provide supplementary evidence.

Inspections of building work

The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 requires us to undertake inspections. This is to check that the work is done in accordance with the approved plans and specification and complies with the minimum standards required by the building regulations.

It is important that you understand that:

  • we are not responsible for checking the quality of work or supervising the builders
  • supervision of the work is your responsibility, or of the suitably qualified person or group you appoint to oversee the work
  • you should always use the approved plans and specification to check that the work is progressing correctly

If you feel that standards of work do not meet your requirements or you are unable to manage site supervision, you should seek the help of a building professional. 

Arranging site inspections

During your project, we will need to inspect key construction stages of the work. It is your responsibility to notify us that the work is ready for inspection at the key stages detailed in your CCNP. Please contact your case surveyor by email or phone when your project is ready for inspection, notifications of the relevant stage should be made a few days in advance to help the inspector coordinate their diary.

If the work is delayed, or you cannot attend an arranged inspection, please contact the case surveyor as soon as you can. The surveyor's contact details are on all correspondence that we issue.

Virtual Site Inspections are available as an alternative method to physical site inspections. View more details about Virtual Site Inspections.

Dealing with inspection faults

At the inspection stage we may find that work has been done outwith the approved plans and specification. If this is the case, we will tell you or your builder what the outstanding faults or issues are at the end of the inspection. 

We will also send you or your agent a letter detailing the faults or issues and indicate the measures required by the building regulations to rectify the situation, if appropriate. 

Once you receive this letter you should arrange for the faults or issues to be rectified. When the remedial work is complete, please contact us to arrange another inspection. 

Design changes and assessment

If you require to change the design during the build project you need to discuss changes with your Building Standards Surveyor or your Building Standards Technical Assistant immediately.

For domestic applications, if the design change is considered small then only revised plans will need to be submitted and it will be regarded as a minor deviation. If the design changes are bigger, then you will be required to submit an amendment to warrant.

For Non-Domestic applications, an amendment to building warrant will be required for any changes to the design or specification.

An Amendment to Building Warrant is processed as per a Building Warrant Application. You can submit your amendment application online using the ebuilding standards portal or in paper by completing Form B - Application for amendment to a building warrant and sending it to our correspondence address. If you had an agent working on your behalf at Building Warrant stage, you may wish to contact them direct to update the plans and make the Amendment to Building Warrant application on your behalf. 

Extending validity of a building warrant

A building warrant is valid for 3 years, starting from the day it is approved. You must either finish the work within this timeframe or apply for an extension of time before the 3-year expiry. However, in cases of hardship we may accept late applications.

The first extension will be for a period of 9 months and no upgrade work will be required.

For further extensions, you may be asked to upgrade your project in line with the Building Regulations in force at the time of the extension request.

There is no legal limit to the number of extensions that can be applied for, but they are at our discretion and the need for further extensions will have to be clearly justified.

For guidance on extensions please contact us.

You can apply for an extension online via the ebuilding standards portal or in paper by completing Form C - Application to extend period of validity of a building warrant and sending it to our correspondence address.