Statute Details
- Title: Building Control (Exemption from Accredited Checking Organisation Requirements) Order
- Act Code: BCA1989-OR2
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary legislation (Order)
- Authorising Act: Building Control Act (Chapter 29, Section 30)
- Citation: Building Control (Exemption from Accredited Checking Organisation Requirements) Order
- Gazette / Instrument: G.N. No. S 405/2001
- First Made: 1 September 2001
- Revised Edition: 31 January 2002 (2002 RevEd)
- Current Version: Current version as at 26 March 2026 (per platform status)
- Key Provisions: Section 1 (Citation), Section 2 (Exemption), Section 3 (Cessation of exemption)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Building Control (Exemption from Accredited Checking Organisation Requirements) Order is a targeted transitional instrument made under the Building Control Act. In plain terms, it provides a limited exemption for certain building works that were already at an advanced stage before a specified cut-off date: 1 September 2001. The exemption is designed to avoid retrospective disruption to projects where an accredited checker had already been appointed and where detailed structural plans and calculations had already been submitted for approval.
The Order focuses on relieving those qualifying building works from compliance with particular requirements in the Building Control Act—specifically, the provisions identified as sections 16(5B) and 17(2). While the extract provided does not reproduce the text of those Act provisions, the structure of the Order makes clear that the Act introduced (or tightened) requirements relating to accredited checking organisations and/or the role of accredited checkers, and that the legislature wanted to manage the transition between the old and new regulatory regime.
Practically, the Order is about when the new requirements apply and who is affected. It does not create a general waiver for all building works. Instead, it carves out a narrow class of projects based on objective milestones: appointment of an accredited checker and submission of detailed structural plans and calculations to the Commissioner of Building Control before 1 September 2001.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation) is straightforward. It authorises the short title by which the Order may be cited. For practitioners, this matters mainly for accurate referencing in submissions, correspondence with regulators, and legal pleadings.
Section 2 (Exemption) is the operative provision. It states that, subject to paragraph 3, any building works meeting both of the following conditions are exempt from sections 16(5B) and 17(2) of the Building Control Act:
- (a) Appointment condition: an accredited checker had been appointed under section 17(1) of the Act; and
- (b) Submission condition: an application for approval of any detailed structural plans and calculations had been submitted to the Commissioner of Building Control under section 6(1) of the Act.
Crucially, both conditions must have been satisfied before 1 September 2001. The exemption is therefore anchored to a specific temporal threshold. For legal and compliance teams, the key evidentiary question becomes: can the project demonstrate that both milestones were completed before the cut-off date? This typically requires documentary proof such as appointment records, statutory forms, correspondence, and submission receipts or acknowledgements.
Section 3 (Cessation of exemption) introduces an important limitation: the exemption is not necessarily permanent. It ceases if, on or after 1 September 2001, the accredited checker appointed in respect of the building works either:
- (a) ceases to be registered as an accredited checker under section 16 of the Act, or has the registration suspended or cancelled; or
- (b) ceases to be the accredited checker appointed in respect of those building works.
This cessation mechanism is significant because it ties the exemption to the continuity of the specific accredited checker originally appointed. Even if the project qualified initially under section 2, the exemption can be lost if the accredited checker is replaced or becomes ineligible. From a practitioner’s perspective, this creates a compliance risk: project timelines and staffing changes can affect the legal status of the exemption.
In other words, the Order operates like a conditional transitional exemption: it is granted based on pre-cut-off actions, but it is maintained only while the same accredited checker remains registered and appointed. If the accredited checker is suspended, cancelled, or replaced, the building works cease to benefit from the exemption and the relevant Act requirements in sections 16(5B) and 17(2) would presumably resume to apply.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is structured in a concise, three-part format:
- Section 1 (Citation): provides the short title.
- Section 2 (Exemption): sets out the conditions under which building works are exempt from specified Building Control Act provisions.
- Section 3 (Cessation of exemption): defines events that terminate the exemption, focusing on the accredited checker’s registration status and whether the accredited checker remains appointed.
There are no additional parts, schedules, or complex procedural steps in the extract. The legislative design is therefore minimalistic: it relies on clear factual triggers (appointment and submission before 1 September 2001) and clear termination triggers (loss of registration or replacement of the accredited checker on or after that date).
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to building works within the scope of the Building Control Act where an accredited checker has been appointed under section 17(1) and where detailed structural plans and calculations have been submitted for approval under section 6(1). The exemption is not directed at a particular class of persons (such as developers, owners, or contractors) by name; instead, it attaches to the building works and the regulatory status of the accredited checker associated with those works.
In practice, the parties most likely to be concerned are those responsible for regulatory submissions and compliance—commonly developers/owners, their consultants, and the accredited checking professionals. However, the legal effect is expressed as an exemption from specific statutory requirements. Therefore, the key compliance stakeholders are those who can verify the two qualifying milestones and who manage any later changes to the accredited checker.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is important because it addresses a classic regulatory transition problem: when new or amended statutory requirements come into force, applying them immediately to ongoing projects can be unfair, impractical, or disruptive. By limiting the exemption to projects where the accredited checker was appointed and detailed structural plans were already submitted before 1 September 2001, the legislature balanced continuity of work with the need to implement the updated regulatory framework.
For practitioners, the Order’s value lies in its objective criteria and clear termination conditions. It provides a defensible basis to argue that certain building works should not be subject to the specified Act provisions, but it also warns that the exemption can be lost if the accredited checker’s registration status changes or if the accredited checker is replaced. This means that legal advice cannot stop at “the project qualified at the cut-off date”; it must also consider whether the accredited checker remains the same and remains eligible.
From an enforcement and dispute-resolution perspective, the cessation clause is particularly relevant. If a regulator later asserts that the exemption no longer applies, the factual record regarding the accredited checker’s appointment and registration will become central. Practitioners should therefore ensure that project documentation is complete and that any change in accredited checker is assessed for its legal consequences.
Related Legislation
- Building Control Act (Chapter 29) — in particular:
- Section 6(1) (submission of detailed structural plans and calculations for approval)
- Section 16 (registration of accredited checkers)
- Section 16(5B) (the Act provision from which the exemption applies)
- Section 17(1) (appointment of an accredited checker)
- Section 17(2) (the Act provision from which the exemption applies)
- Section 30 (authorising power for subsidiary legislation/orders)
- Building Control (Exemption from Accredited Checking Organisation Requirements) Order — G.N. No. S 405/2001 (as revised in 2002 RevEd)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Building Control (Exemption from Accredited Checking Organisation Requirements) Order for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.