Building Control Won't Sign Off and the Client Is Blaming You?
The short answer
Get the reasons in writing, then sort each one into your workmanship, the design, or missing paperwork. Fix what's yours fast, price what isn't as a variation, and keep the client updated in writing. Since October 2023 the contractor in control of the work has legal duties, and signs a declaration at completion.
- Get the refusal in writing, item by item. You can't fix, price or argue a verbal 'not passing it'.
- Since 1 October 2023 builders are dutyholders. In England, a sole contractor is the principal contractor by law. On the local authority route, the completion notice (within 5 days of finishing) includes your statement that you met your duties.
- Not every failure is yours. Sort each item: your workmanship, the design, client changes, or missing certificates. Who pays follows the cause.
- The risk lasts, so build the habit. Non-compliant work can be required to be removed for up to 10 years. Photograph before covering, keep an inspection log and a certificates folder.
The extension is finished, the client has moved back into the kitchen, and the building control inspector won't issue the completion certificate. Now the client is saying it's your fault, holding the last payment, and asking what you're going to do about it.
Forums are full of homeowners asking about this. Almost nothing is written for the builder in the middle of it, and the rules changed in 2023. This guide covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems.
This is general information from a contractor's experience, not legal advice. For your situation, speak to a construction solicitor. To fix how your jobs are run and recorded, book a free strategy call.
First 24 hours: get the reasons in writing
A verbal "I can't pass this" can't be fixed, priced or challenged. Before anything else:
- Ask the inspector for a written list of every item stopping sign-off, and what evidence would satisfy each one.
- Photograph each item as it is today, with the date.
- Pull your records: inspection dates, photos taken before work was covered, certificates, drawings and any approved changes.
- Don't argue on site. The inspector decides whether to sign. A calm phone call to agree the list does more than a row on the drive.
Who is responsible for what since 2023
Since 1 October 2023, everyone who designs or builds in England has legal duties under Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010. On most domestic jobs, the builder carries more of them than they realise.
| Role | Who it usually is on a domestic job | Main duties |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic client | The homeowner | Give enough time and money for compliance, appoint designers and contractors, share what they know about the property |
| Principal designer | The architect or designer in control of the design | Make sure the design, if built, complies; coordinate other designers |
| Principal contractor | You, if you're the only contractor or the one in control of the building work | Plan, manage and monitor the building work so it complies; never accept non-compliant work |
| Contractor | You and your subcontractors | Make sure your own work complies; supervise your workers; flag clashes with other work |
| Building control body | The council or a registered building control approver | Inspect, and issue the completion certificate when satisfied |
Two rules catch builders out:
- If you're the only contractor, you are the principal contractor by law. You don't need a letter of appointment for it to apply.
- You mustn't start until you're satisfied the client knows their duties. A short paragraph in your contract or pre-start letter, signed by the client, is your evidence.
If you and the client part ways before the end, you must give the client a document. It explains the arrangements you put in place, no later than 28 days after your appointment ends.
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What you sign at completion
On the local authority route, within 5 days of finishing, the person carrying out the work must send a completion notice. It has to include:
- the names and contact details of the client, the principal contractor and the principal designer;
- a statement that the work is complete;
- a statement signed by the client that, to the best of their knowledge, the work complies with building regulations;
- a statement signed by you as principal contractor, with the dates of your appointment, confirming you fulfilled your duties under Part 2A.
If one of those statements can't be included, the notice must say why. If a private registered building control approver is doing the inspections, ask them at the start exactly what they need at completion.
Signing the declaration to get the final payment when you know something isn't right. It's a signed statement that you met legal duties. Fix the item first, or put the problem in writing.
Why building control won't sign off, and who pays
Many refusals on lofts and extensions trace back to the survey. Stair headroom, fire escape and steel calculations were never priced or checked (see how to price loft conversions and extensions). Most refusals fall into four groups. Sort every item on the inspector's list into one of them before you talk money with the client.
| Cause | Typical examples | Who usually pays to put it right |
|---|---|---|
| Your workmanship | Work not built to the approved drawings, missing fire stopping, wrong insulation thickness | You (and your subcontractor, under your subcontract) |
| Design | Detail on the drawings doesn't comply, missing structural calculations | The client, who may claim from the designer. Price your extra work as a variation |
| Client changes | Layout or spec changed on site without telling building control | The client, as a variation, once building control agrees what's needed |
| Missing paperwork | No electrical certificate, no test results, no evidence for work covered before inspection | Whoever was responsible for providing it under the contract |
Two more come back to the builder. First, work covered before a stage the inspector asked to see (they can require it to be opened up). Second, work by someone not registered with a competent person scheme, where the job relied on self-certification.
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The 7-day fix plan and the letter to your client
| Day | Do this |
|---|---|
| 1 | Get the written list. Photograph each item |
| 2 | Sort each item by cause. Price anything that isn't yours |
| 3 | Write to the client (below). Agree a meeting if needed |
| 4–6 | Fix your items. Chase missing certificates and test results |
| 7 | Send the evidence and book the re-inspection |
Letter to the client (copy and adapt):
Subject: Building control sign-off at [address]: the plan
Dear [name],
Building control has listed [number] items to resolve before issuing the completion certificate. I've attached the list with photos.
Items 1–[x] relate to our work. We will put them right at no cost to you by [date].
Items [y]–[z] relate to [the design / changes made during the job / certificates from others]. [Explain.] Our price to deal with them is £[x], and we will start once you confirm in writing.
We have asked for a re-inspection on [date] and I'll update you the same day.
Kind regards, [name, company, phone]
If you think building control is wrong: ask for the reason and the regulation it relates to, and offer evidence. If a local authority refuses to issue a completion certificate, there is a right of appeal to the Building Safety Regulator. Appeals have legal time limits, so act quickly.
Why it matters for years: breaching building regulations is a criminal offence. Building control can also serve a notice on the owner to remove or alter non-compliant work for up to 10 years after completion. Clients pass that cost back to the builder under the contract.
If you want your process checked before the next job, book a free strategy call.
The paperwork habit that protects you
You won't win a sign-off argument with your memory. Make these routine on every job:
- Pre-start letter: the client's duties, signed by the client, before you start.
- Inspection log: each building control visit, date, stage, outcome and any comments.
- Photos before anything is covered: foundations, drainage, insulation, fire stopping, steel, all dated.
- Certificates folder: electrical, gas, glazing, test results, collected as each trade finishes.
- Change log: every design or spec change, who asked for it, and whether building control has agreed it.
Our Systems Blueprint sets up site records and hand-over so this happens without you chasing it. If the problem is a subcontractor's work, read who pays for poor workmanship.
The Systems Blueprint for UK Builders
Site records, inspections and hand-over: the systems that make sign-off routine.
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Before your next job starts
This is general information from a contractor's experience, not legal advice. For a disputed final account or an enforcement notice, speak to a construction solicitor.
Before you go
- The client has signed a note of their duties before you start
- You know whether you're the principal contractor on this job
- Every stage is photographed before it's covered
- Certificates are collected as each trade finishes, not at the end
- You only sign the completion declaration when it's true
