Consultation on Building (Prescribed Fees) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

Overview

Article 13 of the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (as amended) allows district councils to charge fees for the performance of prescribed functions in relation to building regulations.

The Department of Finance, through the Building (Prescribed Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (as amended) (the Fees Regulations), sets the fees that can be charged by district councils for plans application, inspection, regularisation and type approval functions in relation to applications for building regulations approvals for the construction, renovation or alteration of buildings.

The Fees Regulations have not been amended since 2013 and although fees for Schedule 3 (predominantly non-domestic applications) are based on the cost of works and have increased as construction costs have increased, the fees set out in Schedules 1 & 2 have not altered since that time.

This has resulted in an increasing disparity between the fees received and the costs incurred by district councils for Schedule 1 and 2 applications.  The implication of this is that their building control functions are being subsidised increasingly by all ratepayers, rather than just those carrying out the relevant building work. 

Therefore, the Department is consulting on proposals to uplift the fees set by Schedules 1 & 2 of the Fees Regulations as an interim measure alongside a wholesale review of the Fees Regulations.

Why your views matter

In this consultation, the Department is seeking your views on the following:

• Whether you would support a move to the fees charged to users of the service reflecting the full cost for processing building control applications, rather than ratepayers subsidising the service;
• Any other aspects of the Fees Regulations you would like to see included in a wider review; and
• The increases to Schedules 1 and 2 fees proposed in the meantime as an interim measure.

It is not compulsory to answer all of the questions, so you can take part in the consultation even if you do not have views on all of the above issues. The answers you give will inform the development of final policy proposals and legislation, so we would encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say.

Privacy Notice 

The Data Protection Act 2018 states that, as a government department, DoF may process personal data as necessary for the effective performance of a task carried out in the public interest. i.e. a consultation. In addition to the statutory requirement in the Building Order to consult on building regulations matters there is an expectation of appropriate public consultation on substantive changes to the Building Regulations.

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

Your data will be kept for two years, after which all data will be deleted. To find out how we handle your personal data, please see our privacy policy. When submitting this response you agree to our privacy policy.

All the information you provide will be treated in strict confidence and will not be used to identify you personally. The analysis will be carried out on an anonymous basis under the guidelines of the GDPR.

Where consent has been provided consultation responses will be published on the Department of Finance website, no personal data will be published.

Information will not be passed on to anyone else and will only be used for the purposes of this consultation/survey or if necessary to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements.