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Government: building control bodies should check cladding work
The government has written to building control bodies to remind them that any cladding work carried out on tower blocks needs to meet regulations.
The government’s expert fire safety panel is concerned that new risks are not created when landlords remove and replace cladding on their tower blocks. Landlords have been removing aluminium composite material cladding from their blocks after it failed the government’s combustibility test. However, some have paused the work because of “unclear” advice from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
At their third meeting, the panel recommended the government should remind building control officers that any recladding work should comply with the building regulations – in particular, requirements around structural safety, resistance to moisture penetration and meeting fire safety requirements.
Building control bodies are responsible for checking that work complies with the building regulations. It is the responsibility of those carrying out the work to ensure that the regulations are fully met.
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The advice from the DCLG has been sent to all building control bodies in England, including councils’ building control departments and private sector-approved inspectors.
The letter particularly draws the attention of building control bodies to the following:
- How to demonstrate compliance with fire safety requirements, for example ensuring that cladding and insulation used are of limited combustibility or that a whole wall cladding system test is undertaken.
- Where panels are removed for inspection or testing purposes, the integrity of the whole cladding system needs to be maintained.
- The structural design of any replacement cladding needs to be checked – it should not be assumed that existing fixings and systems are suitable for replacement systems.
- The need to ensure that replacement cladding systems or components protect the building adequately from rain and condensation.
- Guidance on how to meet energy efficiency requirements when recladding.
