Office of Public Sector Information
The Scottish Ministers may by order make such incidental, supplemental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision as they consider necessary or expedient for the purposes or in consequence of this Act.
Schedule 6 makes modifications of enactments in consequence of this Act.
(1) The provisions of this Act, except sections 54 and 57 and this section, come into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may by order appoint.
(2) This Act may be cited as the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.
(introduced by section 1)
1 This schedule is without prejudice to the generality of section 1(1).
2 Building regulations may be framed to any extent by reference to a document published by or on behalf of the Scottish Ministers or another person, or by reference to the approval or satisfaction of such person as the regulations may specify.
3 Building regulations may make special provision for buildings intended to have a life not exceeding such period as the regulations may specify.
4 Building regulations may exempt such description of—
(a) buildings,
(b) work or conversions, or
(c) services, fittings or equipment,
as the regulations may specify from all or any of the provisions of the regulations.
5 (1) Building regulations may, for any of the purposes specified in section 1(1)—
(a) make provision as to any of the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2),
(b) require things to be provided or done in connection with buildings (as well as regulating the provision or doing of things in connection with buildings),
(c) specify the manner in which work is to be carried out.
(2) The matters referred to in sub-paragraph (1) are—
(a) preparation of sites,
(b) strength and stability (including the safeguarding of adjacent buildings and services),
(c) fire precautions (including resistance of structure to the outbreak and spread of fire, the protection of occupants and means of escape in the event of fire and the provision of facilities to assist firefighting),
(d) resistance to moisture and decay,
(e) resistance to the transmission of heat,
(f) resistance to the transmission of sound,
(g) durability,
(h) resistance to infestation,
(i) drainage,
(j) ventilation (including the provision of open space for it),
(k) daylighting (including the provision of open space for it),
(l) heating and artificial lighting,
(m) services, fittings and equipment (including broadband communication technology and other electronic communications services, fittings and equipment and services, fittings and equipment for the supply or use of gas or electricity),
(n) measures to ensure that pipes used in connection with the provision of water for domestic purposes are not fitted in a way that may contribute to the concentration of lead in such water exceeding the limit specified in Table B of Schedule 1 to the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (S.S.I. 2001/207),
(o) measures affecting the emission of smoke, gases, fumes, grit, dust or other noxious or offensive substances,
(p) accommodation and ancillary equipment,
(q) access, including in particular access for disabled persons,
(r) suitability for use by disabled persons,
(s) prevention of danger and obstruction,
(t) security,
(u) reuse of building materials.
(introduced by section 7)
1 A verifier or certifier is appointed under section 7(1) for such period, and holds the appointment on such terms, as the appointment may specify.
2 An appointment may be made subject to such limitations as the Scottish Ministers may impose, which may be framed by reference to area, description of building, cost of building or building work or any other factor whatsoever.
3 Despite paragraph 1, an appointment may be varied or terminated on such grounds as may be specified in procedure regulations.
4 A person who is a certifier by virtue of membership of a scheme approved under section 7(2) is entitled to exercise the functions of a certifier subject to—
(a) such limitations as are imposed in relation to the scheme under section 7(3), and
(b) any limitations contained in the scheme.
5 When the appointment of a verifier (the “former verifier”) terminates, for whatever reason, the Scottish Ministers must direct another verifier (the “successor verifier”) to deal with—
(a) any application made to the former verifier under section 9 for a building warrant or an amendment to a building warrant, so far as undetermined at the time when the appointment terminated,
(b) any completion certificate submitted to the former verifier and not accepted or rejected under section 18 at the time when the appointment terminated, and
(c) any completion certificate submitted after the time when the appointment terminated and relating to work or a conversion in respect of which a building warrant was granted by the former verifier;
and from the date of the direction references in this Act or subordinate legislation made under it to the verifier are to be read as references to the successor verifier.
6 A verifier is not entitled to exercise any functions as such under this Act in relation to any matter in respect of which it has, as an approved certifier of design or an approved certifier of construction, issued a certificate under section 11(1) or, as the case may be, 19(1).
7 An approved certifier of design is not entitled to issue a certificate under section 11(1) in relation to any matter in respect of which it has exercised or is exercising any function as a verifier under this Act.
8 An approved certifier of construction is not entitled to issue a certificate under section 19(1) in relation to any matter in respect of which it has exercised or is exercising any function as a verifier under this Act.
9 A verifier is not entitled to exercise any function as such under this Act in relation to a building in which it has an interest unless the Scottish Ministers authorise it to do so by a direction under this paragraph.
10 Such a direction may be given to a particular verifier or to verifiers of a particular description and may be given in respect of all the functions of the verifiers to which it applies or such descriptions of those functions (determined by reference to any criteria whatsoever) as the direction may specify.
11 For the purposes of paragraph 9, a verifier has an interest in a building if it is an owner, tenant or occupier of the building or if it has such other interest in or in connection with the building as may be specified in procedure regulations.
12 Such regulations may specify different such interests in relation to different verifiers or different descriptions of verifier.
Building (Scotland) Act 2003