Building Control and Completion Certificates

“An unheralded jolt of officious rejection”

In Dromaprop Ltd v Leitrim County Council [2024] IEHC 234, the Developer challenged the refusal of the Council to validate a Completion Certificate.

The Facts

Drompaprop Ltd (“the Developer”) carried out works to a hotel during the course of which it decided was to be used as accommodation for international protection applicants and displaced persons (Permission P22/138) (paras 1 and 9).

A Certificate of Compliance on Completion (“the Certificate”) was submitted in respect of a completed phase of the permitted works (para 15). In an unremarkable, “co-operative” (para 1) correspondence, the Council made a limited request for further technical information (paras 17/27).

Following receipt of that information, outside of the statutory period for rejection and, by what the Judge referred to as “an unheralded jolt of officious rejection” (para 73), the Council refused to validate the Certificate with only vague reference to the Building Control Regulations 1997 to 2015 (paras 28/29 and see paras 53 and 58).

The Council stated that it was impossible to assess the compliance of the completed part of the works without other phases having been completed (para 43). The Developer argued that such assessment and certification (of a part) is expressly permitted in the Regulations and is normal practice in large construction projects (para 43 and see para 54).

The Court was asked, in effect, to rule on the validity of the Council's rejection of the Certificate (para 1 and see paragraph 59 for a detailed list of issues).

The Law

The design and construction of buildings is regulated by the;

• Building Control Acts 1990 to 2014

• Building Control Regulations 1997 (as amended) (“the Regulations”) and the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (together generally referred to as the Building Control Regulations 1997 to 2014)

• Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Buildings and Works (September 2016) (“the Code of Practice”)

• Technical Guidance Documents which accompany each part of the Regulations dealing with practical matters in detail such as 'site preparation and resistance to moisture' and 'materials and workmanship'. Guidelines are referred to at paragraph 57 but the text quoted is contained in the Code of Practice.

The Decision

The decision of the Council to declare invalid the Certificate was quashed (para 150).

Validation Within the Statutory Timeline

A council must validate and register a Certificate of Compliance on Completion within the statutory timeline of 21 days unless, within that period, it either decides that the certificate is invalid or it seeks further information. If it seeks further information, it must validate or reject the certificate within 7 days of receiving that further information. (paras 53 and 148(i))

At the latter stage, a rejection can only be on the basis of the further information received, not on a basis that was within the knowledge of the Council prior to its receipt of the further information (paras 65/70 and 148(ii)). A reasonable Council does not “send the applicant on a pointless wild-goose-chase of putting in further material when there was a pre-existing overall objection in principle.” (para 66)

Partial Certification of Works