A Certificate of Compliance on Completion is a statutory certificate signed by the assigned certifier and the builder confirming that, based on inspections carried out during construction, a building has been built in accordance with the Building Regulations. It is lodged through the Building Control Management System and, for works within scope of the 2014 amendment regulations, is required before certain buildings can be validly occupied.
The Certificate of Compliance on Completion is the final statutory document in the building control certification process introduced by the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 for works that fall within its scope. It is signed jointly by the assigned certifier and the builder, and it certifies that, based on a programme of inspections carried out during construction and on the design and as-built documentation, the building has been constructed in accordance with the Building Regulations.
The certificate is lodged with the local authority through the Building Control Management System, along with supporting inspection records, ancillary certificates for specialist elements, and as-built drawings where required. Once validly lodged, the local authority has a period within which it can raise a query or objection, after which the certificate is placed on the statutory register, and this registration is generally treated as an important record for the future sale, letting or mortgaging of the property.
For new dwellings and other works within scope of the 2014 regulations, validly certified completion is a significant milestone, and its absence, or gaps in the inspection and certification trail, can cause real difficulty later, including delays or complications in conveyancing and in some cases requiring retrospective remedial certification (sometimes called regularisation) to resolve.