FAQs

Registered Building Inspectors (“RBIs”) are companies or individuals approved by Government to provide Building Control Services in England and Wales.

Assent Building Control Limited provides a cost-effective and client friendly alternative to local authority building control anywhere in England and Wales. We have a large team of qualified and experienced registered building inspectors who will work with the design team from inception to final certification.

Registered Building Control Approvers provides a responsive, efficient and consultative alternative to Local Building Control. An RBCA’s certification has the same legal standing as that from the Local Authority and we are insured under a comprehensive professional indemnity policy.

Assent has offices across England & Wales. This means that you will always have a local Assent registered building inspector, with local knowledge to liaise with. Please locate your nearest office via our office finder.

Domestic and Commercial projects follow a slightly different process, as commercial projects are typically more complex and require involvement from an earlier design stage.

Usually, for domestic building control projects we would take the following steps.

1. Submit your plans/application to Assent
2. Submit Initial Notice to Local Authority
3. Plan Check
4. Site Inspection Schedule
5. Final Inspection
6. Issue Final Certificate

We will work with relevant design, architect, contractors and developers in order to schedule site inspections and to ensure that the project build follows building regulation compliance.

We will also liaise with Local Authorities on your behalf, submitting all required documentation.

Assent offers a cost effective service tailored to the individual project. Provide details of your project by telephone, email or by our online quotation service. We will respond with a fixed price, all-inclusive fee proposal outlining the services you will receive from us.

Please contact us by telephone, email or via the quote request form with your project details. As soon as we have all the relevant information we need, you will receive an acknowledgement by email. We will then provide on-going advice and guidance to ensure your project meets the Building Regulations.

We will support your application submission and discuss the options available to you in order to find a satisfactory resolution. We endeavour to avoid rejecting applications, however, please note that if work has commenced, we will reject the project, as we cannot oversee any works that have already commenced.

When you instruct Assent, you are appointing us to act on your behalf. As part of the Building Regulations process Assent will notify your local authority of your intended building work on what is called an ‘Initial Notice’. You may start work just as soon as this notice has been accepted by your local authority usually after 5 working days.

Assent Building Control Limited is bound by the codes of conduct of our own professional bodies including RICS, ABE and IFE and that of our regulatory body, the Construction Industry Council (CIC).

In the unusual event that a client is dissatisfied with the building control service they receive they should contact Assent in the first instance. We will do our utmost to resolve any problems with you following our agreed complaints procedure.

Any gas work subject to the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and notifiable* electrical work is not controlled by Assent and must be done by installers registered with an appropriate competent person scheme. Ask your approved installer if you are unsure of what is required. You should contact your installer if you have not received a self-certified compliance certificate from the installer within 30 days of completion.

* Notifiable electrical work includes new circuits, new consumer units and most alterations in bathrooms.