Opinion

Agricultural buildings may fall into a number of distinct categories. The requirements of these buildings could be defined as follows:

 Detached Single Storey Agricultural buildings of less than 300 sq. m. – Exempted development (Article 8, Third Schedule, Building Regulations 1997 – 2014): No CN required Rationale: Article 7 of the BCR’s 1997 – 2014 state that the Part (Part II) applies to (a), (b), (c) to which the building regulations apply. As Agricultural buildings of less than 300 sq. m. are exempted from the Building Regulations, Article 7 does not apply 

Single-Storey Agricultural buildings of more than 300 sq. m. – Not exempted development (Article 8, Third Schedule, Building Regs 1997 – 2014): CN without compliance documentation required 

Rationale: As Agricultural buildings of more than 300 sq. m. (whether by extension or initial construction) are not exempted from the Building Regulations, Article 7 of the Building Control Regulations applies, therefore a CN without additional information is required. The additional documentation and Assigned Certifier, etc. is not required as a single storey agricultural building does not require a FSC, (A. 11(2) BCR’s 1997 – 2014), therefore the provisions of A. 9(2) BCR’s 1997 – 2014 do not apply 

Multi – Storey Agricultural buildings: CN with compliance documentation/ 7 Day Notice, Assigned Certifier, FSC, etc. required 

Rationale: Multi storey Agricultural buildings are subject to the provisions of Part III of the BCR’s 1997 – 2014 (A. 11(1) (a) & A. 11(2)(a) BCR’s 1997 – 2014, therefore the provisions of A. 9(2) BCR’s 1997 – 2014 apply. 

Part III (2) For the purposes of this Part, the following buildings are exempted — 

(a) a single storey building which — 

(i) is used exclusively for the storage of materials or products, for the accommodation of plant or machinery or in connection with the housing, care or management of livestock, 

(ii) is used solely for the purpose of agriculture, and 

(iii) is a building in which the only persons habitually employed are engaged solely in the care, supervision, regulation, maintenance, storage or removal of the materials, products, plant, machinery or livestock in the building, and which is either attached to another such building or detached from any other building,

• The intention underlying this provision was that the full rigour of a requirement might not always be necessary in particular circumstances and that it would be open to a Building Control Authority to relax or dispense the requirement in question on application from the person concerned. 

• It should be noted that the power in the Act relating to relaxations and dispensations applies only to the requirements of the Regulations -does not extend to the TGDs which are not part of the Regulations.

 • The Regulations employ such words as; “reasonable”, “adequate” or “necessary”. It would ‘make little sense to relax a requirement to something which is less than reasonable, adequate or necessary. BCAs should note, that these terms, of their very nature, imply different levels of performance in relation to different buildings. Relaxing the provisions of the Regulations should, therefore, seldom arise.

• The position in regard to dispensations is somewhat different. It may be possible to dispense a ' requirement even in circumstances where a relaxation would make no sense. Dispensations should seldom be needed as the requirements are, in the main, basic and fundamental to good building practice. There is the added consideration that the various requirements are broad in scope and a dispensation might have a greater effect than the applicant would want, or the building control authority would consider reasonable in a particular case. 

• Section 4(5) of the Act to provides for attaching conditions to the grant of a dispensation that would limit the extent of the dispensation given. 

• While applications for relaxations and dispensations can validly be made to BCAs, the circumstances where these can, or should, be granted seem to be very limited. Example, the carrying out of works to a building of particular historic or cultural interest where, in the view of the authority, application of provisions of the Regulations would detract significantly from the historic or cultural value of the building. 

• Persons responsible for the design and construction of buildings should consult the BCA on an informal basis as to whether a particular building would meet the requirements of the Regulations. While there may be certain potential benefits to such an arrangement (it could, for example, result in avoiding the need to instigate enforcement procedures afterwards) the non- statutory nature of any such consultations should be borne in mind. 

• In the limited circumstances where applications for relaxations and dispensations arise, the application form to be used is prescribed in the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. Building control authorities should note the default provision in section 4(4) of the Act which requires the giving of a decision on an application for a relaxation or dispensation within two months or such extended period as may be agreed in writing with the applicant. 

• There is no prescribed form for notification of a decision on a relaxation or dispensation. It is suggested, however, that the decision be notified in writing and that any conditions which may be attached should be clearly spelled out. All documents received and issued in relation to relaxations and dispensations should be carefully retained. 

• Applications for relaxations and dispensations would normally be made before construction of a building is commenced; the Act does not preclude such applications being made during or after the construction process. Accordingly, it is suggested that building control authorities should deal with any applications for relaxations and dispensations on their merits, irrespective of whether the work in question has already been carried out. The practical limitations on the operation of the whole concept of relaxing and dispensing the Building Regulations will still apply.

NOTE: IF IN DOUBT, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL BUILDING CONTROL AUTHORITY

Fire -S.I. No. 115 of  2006

Part B (Dwellings) - Fire -S.I. No. 57 of  2017

Part D - Materials and Workmanship-S.I. No. 224 of 2013

Part E - Sound- S.I. No. 606 of 2014 1st July 2015

Part F - Ventilation-S.I. No. 556 of 2009

Part G – Hygiene - S.I. No. 335 of 2008

Part H – Drainage and wastewater disposal -S.I. No. 561 of 2010

Part J – Heat  Producing Appliances -S.I. No. 133 of 2014 1st September 2014

Part K - Stairways, Ladders, Ramps and Guards- S.I. No. 180 of 2014

Part L - Conservation of Fuel and Energy (Dwellings)

• Commencement Notice; FORM OF COMMENCEMENT NOTICE FOR DEVELOPMENT: Owner
• FORM OF 7 DAY NOTICE; Building Control Acts 1990 and 2007: Owner
• Design Certificate; Form of Certificate of Compliance (Design): Designer
• NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNED CERTIFIER; (Notice of Assignment of Person to Inspect and Certify Works): Owner
• UNDERTAKING BY ASSIGNED CERTIFIER; Form of Certificate of Compliance: Assigned Certifier
• NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF BUILDER: Owner
• UNDERTAKING BY BUILDER; FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE: Builder
• CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ON COMPLETION: Assigned Certifier & Builder
• FORM OF 7 DAY NOTICE STATUTORY DECLARATION: Owner & Commissioner of Oaths

Section 6.

Building Control  Regulations providing for matters of procedure, administration and control for the purposes of securing the implementation of, and compliance with, the requirements of building regulations and building control regulations

1.Notices ​

2.Applications​

3.Certificates​

4.Declarations​

5.Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Buildings and Works

•A Commencement Notice is a notification to a Building Control Authority that a person intends to carry out either works or a Material Change of Use to which the Building Regulations apply. The notice must be given to the authority not more than 28 days and not less than 14 days before the commencement of works or the change of use. Once validated by the building control authority, works must commence on site within the 28 day period.

•If the works do not start within 28 days of the date of lodgement of the Commencement Notice, you must submit a new Commencement Notice prior to the commencement of any works taking place.

Section 6 (k) of the Building Control Acts 1990-2014 require the giving of notice to building control authorities of the erection of such buildings, or classes of buildings, or the carrying out of such works, or classes of works, as may be specified in the regulations. The Regulations provide for four Commencement Notice (CN) types:

i. Commencement Notice With Compliance Documentation

ii. Commencement Notice with Opt Out Declaration

iii. Commencement Notice Without Compliance Documentation

iv. 7 Day Notice which includes for 

(a)FSC 

(b)Declaration

NOTE: IF IN DOUBT, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL BUILDING CONTROL AUTHORITY

A 7 day notice is similar to a Commencement Notice and may be used for works, which require a Fire Safety Certificate, when the works need to start before the Certificate is granted. It must be accompanied by a valid Fire Safety Certificate application and a Statutory Declaration. After the 1st March 2014, the additional requirements which apply to Commencement Notices will also apply to 7 Day Notices. The fee for a 7-Day Notice is €250 or €5.80 per square metre of applicable floor area (whichever is the greater).

Commencement Notices are required for the following:

1. the erection of a building;
2. a material alteration or extension of a building, or material change of use of a building;
3. works in connection with the material alteration (excluding minor works) of a shop, office or industrial building.

Note: a commencement notice may be required in certain circumstances where a planning permission is not required e.g. for extension with a floor area not exceeding 25sqm or certain material alterations.  Contact your local Building Control Officer for further clarification.

A Commencement Notice is not required:

1. for works or a change of use which are exempted development under the Planning Acts, and for which a Fire Safety Certificate is not required;
2. or where a 7 Day Notice has been submitted.

The fee for a Commencement Notice (Fifth Schedule Part A of the Building Control Regulations) is €30, or where the Commencement Notice relates to multiple buildings & neither parts III of the Building Control Regulations apply,  €30 in respect of each building.  

Additional charges will be imposed by the Building Control Authority for commencement notices which are not submitted online via the Building Control Management System. 

Defined in the Building Control Act Interpretation Section 1.“building” includes part of a building and any class or classes of structure which are prescribed by the Minister to be a building for the purposes of this Act;  For clarity each part of a building that is considered a dwelling (being a house or flat) can be considered a building in it's own right. As Parts III of the Building Control Regulations apply to flats, a building that contains flats, that is one subdivided horizontally, would be subject to a  €30 fee. In other circumstance where the building is subdivided vertically the dwelling can be considered a house and houses are not subject to Parts III.  In such case payment of €30 for each dwelling in the building is applicable.  The maximum fee (Part B) is €3,800.

The fees for a seven day notice are €250 or €5.80/m2 of floor area, whichever is the greatest (€130 or €1.60/m2 for agricultural building)  Submission of a 7 day notice must be accompanied by a valid Fire Safety Certificate application 

The maximum fee (Fifth Schedule Part B) is €25,000 

•Yes, as an Owner you can submit a Commencement Notice via the online Building Control Management System (BCMS) hosted on nbco.localgov.ie

•The Building Owner must first register on the BCMS system.

•The BCMS will allow building Owners to nominate an Assigned Certifier, Designer and Builder for the development works.

•Each party must be registered with the BCMS system to accept their respective roles in or sign their respective statutory forms.

Yes, Commencement/7Day Notice can be submitted at the offices of your local Building Control Authority. But, the online assessment must still be carried out via the Building Control Management System. There may also be an extra administrative charge for these over the counter submissions.

Yes. 

The owner may appoint themselves as the builder if they believe they are competent to carry out that role and sign the Certificate of compliance (Undertaking by Builder).  As the builder, they are responsible for compliance with the Building Regulations. The must sign the Certificate of Compliance on Completion and must also appoint an Assigned Certifier to inspect the works during construction. 

If an owner decides to opt-out of statutory Certificate of Compliance on Completion, they must declare that they understand their statutory requirements and will ensure that the dwelling or extension is designed and constructed in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations.

Note: may need to consider any  insurance implications &/or such issues which may affect  conveyancing/good marketable title, etc..