Response 468727037

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Questions

1. Do you agree with the inclusion of holding owners accountable for new/converted buildings which are occupied illegally?

Please select one item
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Provide your views in the box below
Most legislation is geared to owners responsibility. Other than that, matters could get complex due to lease arrangements etc.

2. Do you agree with the proposal to include a new provision for the removal of work on the section 27 Building Warrant Enforcement Notice?

Please select one item
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Provide your views in the box below
Frequently removal of unauthorised works would be the most practical way forward in terms of finding a solution.

3. Do you agree that the provision of a standalone stop notice under section 27 would act as a helpful deterrent?

Please select one item
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Provide your views in the box below.
Careful consideration would have to be given the burden on Council services especially in the situation where enforcement is ignored. The costs and resource around this could be significant. The impact of negative equity related to debt recovery is worth consideration.

4. Do you agree with enforcement after the acceptance of a completion certificate for High Risk Buildings?

Please select one item
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Please provide your views in the box below
The liabilities and responsibilities would need closely examined before introducing these options. Various matters are worthy of further consideration: reasonable enquiry has yet to be defined, late completion poses real challenges in terms of reasonable enquiry and enforcement, the main contractor may have gone out of business, etc. In addition there is a presumption that the contractor is at fault, it may be the verifier. In this situation how is enforcement progressed? The cost implications may be considerable for all parties involved.

5. Do you agree that the introduction of a time limit is necessary?

Please select one item
Yes
No

6. Do you agree with the introduction of a 10-year time limit for taking action on non-compliant work?

Please select one item
Yes
No

7. Do you have any views on the 10-year time limit proposed?

Please provide your views in the box below
There are reservations however in terms of the overlap between non-compliance and dangerous/defective enforcement.

8. Do you agree with the level of fines proposed?

Please select one item
Yes
No
Please provide your views in the box below
The level of competency must be comparable across all parties involved in the process e.g. Architects, designers, fire engineers, structural engineers, contractors, sub-contractors, verifiers etc. The penalties are severe, perhaps there needs to be a greater focus on the competency of all parties involved in the process. Related matters such as those raised above e.g. definition of reasonable enquiry, the future role of late completion and the acceptability of alternative evidence etc, all require close consideration. In addition it may be that developers merely factor in the cost of any penalty within the build cost. Compliance costs money and slows the build programme.

9. Do you agree with the option to include a custodial sentence?

Please select one item
Yes
No
Please provide your views in the box below
Not at the present time for the reasons raised above. there will always be the risk that verifiers will be viewed as the party to blame. The recent focus on the competency of verifiers adds weight to this view.

Impact assessments

10. Are there any proposals in this consultation which you consider impact or have implications on people with protected characteristics? Choose from the following options:

Please select one item
Yes
No
Unsure

11. Do you think that any of the proposals in this consultation have any financial, regulatory or resource implications for you and/or your business (if applicable)? Choose from the following options:

Please select one item
Yes
No
Unsure
Provide any comments in the boxes below. If selecting yes, please specify which of the proposals you refer to and why you believe financial, regulatory or resource implications will be impacted.
Significant impact in terms of additional resourcing and future workforce planning.

12. Do you think that any of the proposals in this consultation have any impact or implications on island communities? Choose from the following options:

Please select one item
Yes
No
Unsure

About you

Are you responding as an individual or an organisation?

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(Required)
Individual
Organisation

What is your organisation?

North Lanarkshire Council