Building and Planning

I have paid my friend to do some work to my house, but he is not a member of an industry scheme. Is this a problem?

I have paid my friend to do some work to my house, but he is not a member of an industry scheme. Is this a problem?

There is no legal requirement to employ a competent person. To cut costs you may employ someone who is not registered, or you may prefer to carry out the work yourself. In this case the you will need to notify your Local Authority Building Control Department before the work begins. They will advise you of the procedures and will need to inspect the work to confirm that the work complies with the relevent building regulations before a completion certificate can be issued. It is worth bearing in mind that all reputable installers should be registered under their industry scheme and, if they are not registered, you should be very careful to ask yourself why they are not. If the work is carried out to a poor standard then the Local Authority can order you to carry out remedial works to solve any problems or, in the worst case scenario, order you to demolish the structure altogether. You may find it very hard to get your friend to correct the problems. 

You will need a completion certificate that can either be issued by local building control or the installer can self-certify that the window complies by issuing a FENSA certificate but the installer must be registered as a competent person with FENSA

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