Customer Charter

Our building control services help you to deliver building projects that comply with all building, health and safety, and environmental regulations, in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.

In providing this service, we put you, our customer, at the heart of everything we do. We take the time to understand your requirements, listen to feedback and do all we can to provide an exemplary service.

This document explains how the building control service works, including:

• The services we offer.
• How we can help your project.
• Our commitment to customers.
• Our service level agreements.

If there is anything you want to learn more about, please get in touch using the contact details at the end.

How we can help your building project

We work with homeowners, builders, architects and agents to provide full conception to completion building project support - ensuring your project completes quickly, cost-effectively and in compliance with all regulations.

What does this mean in practice?

• Pre-application advice - you receive free, pre-application advice to save you time and money before starting (1 hour).
• Expertise - you have full access to practical and responsive advice from technical and local experts, including surveyors, agents and architects.
• Council connections - we involve other council departments in your project, including planning, conservation, highways, environmental health, and fire and rescue, to help you avoid extra consultancy fees.
• Full plan service - you receive confirmation of plan approval, allowing you to start specifying materials, co-ordinating deliveries and organising contractors with confidence.
• Full site inspections - we conduct thorough and technical site inspections to ensure your work meets all building, health and safety, and environmental regulations.
• Completion certification – we issue a completion certification that proves your building work is safe, well-built, energy-efficient and legally compliant.

Other services include energy calculations, acoustic testing, fire engineering, training with LABC, and CPD seminars.

And, being not-for-profit, all of our services are affordable and competitive.

Why work with us

We’re members of Local Authority Building Control (LABC), which guarantees you advice that is:

Fast - we’re based in the local area, and we set competitive timelines - helping you to avoid project delays and associated costs.

Impartial - we’re independent, impartial and accountable, working in the sole interests of the local community and economy.

Expert - we are the only fully national service and have unrivalled technical and local expertise.

This means you can complete your project with expert, responsive and cost-efficient support from someone you trust.

Our commitment to customers

Your happiness and satisfaction are important to us, which is why we commit to the following values:

Honesty

We act with honesty and integrity and treat all customers fairly, objectively and respectfully. All decisions are made on the merits of the application and under the relevant legislation.

Accessibility

We make all information clear, concise and easy to access. We welcome all feedback and we work to improve our service continuously.

Transparency

We publish relevant and appropriate information about applications and key decisions on our website, and we always ensure customers understand what’s happening.

Responsiveness

We provide timely advice and decisions and work hard to improve the speed and quality of our service. We are here to help you; if you feel that we haven’t, let us know immediately.

Effectiveness

We provide accurate and practical advice to all and offer a consistent service that you can trust. 

Our service level agreement

To ensure you receive an outstanding service from building control, we commit to the following service levels:

• Telephone calls - we answer phone calls within four rings and respond to voicemails within one working day.

• Emails and letters - we immediately direct emails to the right person and respond within 10 working days.

• Applications - we validate complete building regulation applications within 48 hours of receipt (Monday to Friday).

• Site inspections - we endeavour to carry out site inspections received by 10 am on the same day and no later than 24-hours (Monday to Friday).

Compliments, comments and complaints

We welcome all feedback via your building control contact or the council’s main feedback channel (www.redbridge.gov.uk/tell-us).

All decisions made by Redbridge are based on the relevant legislation, guidelines, professional judgment and internal procedures.

If you feel a decision was made without due care and consideration, please contact us so we can investigate.

Getting in touch

If you want to know more about any of our building control services, get in touch – we’re ready to help:

Email: buildingcontrol@redbridge.gov.uk