Regulations ‘will add to cost of building at home’
From next month, homeowners will be subject to building health and safety legislation that, up to now, was confined to professionals in the construction industry.
The 2012 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Regulations come into force on Jun 1 and are already regarded as the most far-reaching legislation of their kind ever to be introduced into Irish law.
For the first time, construction work commissioned by people on their own homes has been brought within the scope of the construction regulations.
According to solicitor Greg Ryan and barrister Shay Fleming, who have analysed the new regime, this places financial and civil litigation burdens on homeowners who may also be subject to criminal proceedings for failing to comply.
Up to now, clients subject to safety regulations dating from 2005 to 2012 were defined as builders and other construction professionals but, from Jun 1, anyone who employs another to do building work is regarded as a ‘client.’ Writing in the current issue of the Law Society Gazette, Mr Ryan and Mr Fleming warn of the major economic consequences for homeowners considering commissioning work to either build a new home for themselves or carry out renovations to their existing homes.
In particular, they point to situations where such work involves “any of the particular risks specified in schedule 1 to the Construction Regulations 2006, including ‘work at height’ and other risks.
In such circumstances, the homeowner must:
* Appoint a project supervisor;
* Notify the Health and Safety Authority;
* Draw up health and safety plans;
* Ascertain the suitability of the supervisor as well as those appointed by the designer or contractor;
* Ensure all concerned carry proper insurance.
“Homeowners carrying out construction work involving specified risks on their own homes may, in future, be served with enforcement notices for alleged breaches of the statutory code,” say Mr Ryan and Mr Fleming, who warn that homeowners may also be prosecuted for more serious contraventions, including personal injury occurring during construction.
“The effect of any such prosecutions will be to criminalise homeowners and expose them to fines or imprisonment,” they say.
Householders may also face a rise in insurance premiums when they are carrying out work subject to the new regulations.
