Quantity Surveyors & Building Surveyors - Statutory Requirement to Register
REGISTER HERE
The Building Control Act 2007 provides for the statutory protection of the titles of ‘Quantity Surveyor’ and ‘Building Surveyor’ by restricting the lawful use of the titles to suitably qualified persons whose names are entered on a statutory register.
The statutory register for persons wishing to use the titles of ‘Quantity Surveyor’ and ‘Building Surveyor’ as provided under the Building Control Act, 2007 is being established by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland who is the Registration Body and the competent authority in the State in respect of Quantity Surveyors and Building Surveyors.
This is a positive move for surveying, surveyors and for the public, bringing certainty as to the qualifications and training of the building surveyors and quantity surveyors and establishing an agreed internationally recognised professional standard against which all persons calling themselves a building surveyor or quantity surveyor will have been measured. The importance of surveying and surveyors in Irish life has been recognised in this significant legislation.
The main purpose of any registration system is to improve the quality of service to the consumer, by ensuring that those registered are assessed against a defined level of qualifications and competence, and to provide the consumer with means of dispute resolution in the case of problems of poor service for example.
The Register lists building surveyors and quantity surveyors with education, training and experience at an appropriate standard and to similar professionals practising within the EU. It is important to understand that the registration system is about the legal protection of the title ‘building surveyor’ and ‘quantity surveyor’ . It does not, and is not intended, to limit those who provide building surveying or quantity surveying services to building surveyors or quantity surveyors, who are named in the Register.
The relevant sections of the Building Control Act 2007 are:
Part 1: Preliminary and General (Sections 1 - 2)
Part 4: Registration of Quantity Surveyors (Sections 28 - 41)
Part 5: Registration of Building Surveyors (Sections 42 - 55)
Part 6: Fitness to Practice (Sections 56 - 59)
Part 7: Miscellaneous Provisions (Sections 60 - 73)
Please note: during the initial stages of registration there will be persons not on the register who have qualifications listed in the Building Control Act 2007 or who are in the process of completing submissions for evaluation. There will also be those who do not have listed qualifications as provided for but who are preparing for assessment under the Technical Assessment Process, which evaluates relevant experience in building surveying or quantity surveying and can lead to registration.
It is an offence for unregistered persons to use the titles ‘Quantity Surveyor’ or ‘Building Surveyor’ and persons guilty of an offence will be liable on summary prosecution to a fine of €5,000 and € 500 for each day of an ongoing offence and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months and persons guilty of an offence will be liable on summary prosecution to a fine of €5,000 and € 500 for each day of an ongoing offence and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months
Under the Building Control Act 2007, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland is named as the Registration Body and Competent Authority for Building surveyors and Quantity surveyors in Ireland.