Legal Liabilities and the Impact of the Building Act 1984

Abstract

The scheme of private certification of building work envisaged by ss. 39–57 of the Housing and Building Control Act 1984 has now been transferred with other provisions to the Building Act 1984, which received the Royal Assent in October 1984. This article identifies the main areas of legal controversy which the Act will encounter. Some issues, such as the final version of insurance schemes., still await resolution and will not be dealt with in detail here. The position of councils and private inspectors/certifiers will largely be shaped by existing case‐law on local authority liability. One key factor upon which the 1984 Act is silent is the question of the limitation periods within which plaintiffs must bring their legal actions. This has been the subject of a recent official report, and it is likely that any definitive enactment regarding private certification will have to incorporate those proposals. The discussion below concentrates upon three aspects of legal liability: the rapid changes in the scope of the duty of care imposed upon local authorities in recent years; the standard of care expected of participants in building control; and the starting date for the running of limitation periods in negligence.

Citation

Ross, M. (1985), "Legal Liabilities and the Impact of the Building Act 1984", Property Management, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 21-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb006598