Building inspectors operating in Wales must be registered and licenced to undertake work.
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The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) handles the registration and licencing of building inspectors.
What has changed
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced new requirements about registration and licensing for building inspectors. The new term for this profession is a Registered Building Inspector (RBI). The Welsh Ministers are the regulatory authority for RBIs under section 58A of the Building Act 1984 but they have designated the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to oversee and enforce new requirements from this legislation.
From 6 April 2024 all individuals operating as building inspectors must be registered with the BSR and licenced as Registered Building Inspectors or you will be unable to undertake new work.
What the BSR does
You must register with the Building Safety Regulator to carry out BSR-regulated activities (for example, assessing plans and inspecting). This includes all buildings from domestic premises to complex, high-risk, multi-use structures.
The BSR publishes a register of building inspectors on gov.uk. The register will include your name, your employer, and details of BSR-regulated activities you’re registered to do. Guidance in the application will tell you which details will be published.
Your registration will be valid for 4 years, unless varied or cancelled. If you register before 1 April 2024, the 4 years begin from 1 April 2024.
What you will need to register
To register, you will need to provide information about:
- yourself, such as name, address, email, and phone number
- the class of building inspector you’re applying to register as
- details of your approved competency assessment
- membership of relevant professional bodies
- your employment status
You will also be asked to confirm that you will comply with our code of conduct for registered building inspectors.
There is a charge of £336 for each registration, plus £216 annual maintenance payable from the first anniversary of your registration. Registration is for a maximum of 4 years.
Before you start
Find out more about the role of building inspectors under the Building Safety Act 2022. The guidance tells you:
- how to decide which class you’ll register for
- to use a authorised scheme to certify your competency, unless you’re registering as a class 1 building inspector
- how to register as a building inspector