BPIE: Europe's buildings under the microscope - PU Europe

Enforcement and Compliance
Building control requirements prior to, during and upon completion of the construction phase typically
involve announcement to authority, application for permits, approval of plans, inspections by authority
and completion of certificates. These requirements can be a critical step for ensuring regulation
enforcement. Based on a comprehensive review of Building Control published in June 2006 36 by the
Consortium of European Building Control (CEBC), building control systems in Europe have undergone
significant change over the past two decades. In many countries greater market liberalisation has resulted
in a move away from government-run building control functions. There are growing calls for minimum
quality assurance standards to be introduced in all countries to licence, audit and regulate the activities
of individuals (both public and private) involved in undertaking the building control function. This is
particularly important in the context of the structural, fire protection and energy performance regulation
requirements, where the issues are technically complex and specialist skills and expertise is required.
In the context of renovations, the BPIE survey has gathered information on the requirements, typical time
period and main obstacles associated with obtaining a permit for carrying out renovation work. From
the reported answers, it was clear that not all countries have permit requirements for renovations while,
for the ones that do so, permits are typically necessary if major changes are undertaken in the façade of
buildings (from modifying the roof to adding external insulation in case of France). Moreover, the time
required to obtain a permit could vary substantially from one month (e.g. in Czech Republic) to several
months (e.g. in Belgium) where the timeframe can be shorter if the project is supported by a renovation
programme (e.g. in Germany this is the case with the KfW Programme).
In addition, many observers suggest that the compliance and enforcement of building energy
codes is currently undertaken with less rigour and attention to detail, than other building regulation
requirements such as structural integrity and/or fire safety. While there are few studies on compliance
with building energy codes, there is a growing body of academic research suggesting that as building
thermal requirements become more demanding (e.g. in the pursuit of nearly Zero Energy Buildings)
there is increasing evidence of a performance gap between design intent (i.e. theoretical performance as
modelled using national calculation methods) and the actual energy performance in-use. This suggests
one or more of the following issues: the calculation methods are flawed, the enforcement regime is not
being undertaken sufficiently rigorously or designers and builders are failing to satisfactorily deliver the
outcome intended.
Closing the performance gap between design intent (and regulatory requirement) is likely to become an
important issue over the next decade if countries are to deliver the climate and environmental targets
related to buildings. The key findings of the PRC/Delft Univ. of Technology review of National Building
Regulations 1 found that there was “little attention yet to enforcing sustainable building regulations
in most of the various countries analysed”. The report also suggested that, given the highly technical
nature of the requirements associated with sustainability and energy, there was a serious shortage of
individuals with appropriate expertise to undertake the building control function. This is resulting in poor
enforcement of compliance associated with these important issues.
36
Consortium of European Building Control BCR Report Building Control Systems in Europe June 2006 http://www.cebc.eu/files/reports/bcr_-_
issue_2_-_sep_2006.pdf
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