Building Control Service

With householders spending hundreds of millions of pounds on home improvements or repairs each year, The Office of Fair Trading has produced a guide to planning and managing work on your home entitled 'Having Work Done On Your Home' in which they suggest steps to take in order to limit causes for complaint:

1. Make a plan of what you want done. Don't be pressured into unnecessary work or work you cannot afford. For large or complex jobs, professional advice may well be needed.
2. Get the necessary consents or agreements from your local authority and insurance company. Discuss your plans with your neighbours particularly if there are any issues covered by the Party Wall Act. A booklet is available from Building Control.
3. Seek at least three quotations based on detailed specification, and compare price, conditions, and reputation for reliability and good workmanship.
4. Get a written contract covering all the details of your agreement, notably the work to be done, price, start and completion dates, stage payments and retention periods and the position on delays where time is of the essence.
5. Find out whether a worthwhile guarantee is available, giving cover against a contractor ceasing to trade. Insurance backed schemes may be particularly appropriate.
6. Avoid deposits and advance payments. Use staged payments as a means of keeping the work progressing. Use any retained payment to ensure that defects discovered after completion are put right.
7. Be as clear as possible about the way you will deal with any disputes.
8. Make sure that you play fair with the builder. Pay bills for good work promptly. There is no sense in creating unnecessary problems and bad feeling.