Completion Certificate Submission

It is an offence to occupy a new building, a building that has been converted or an extension, unless the completion certificate has been accepted by us. In certain circumstances, we may agree to temporary occupation or use.

It is the responsibility of the relevant person (usually the owner or developer) to build correctly or to ensure building is done correctly, as verifiers cannot regularly or sufficiently monitor all construction work to check that the regulation requirements are being met. Consequently, the relevant person should ensure that adequate procedures are in place to allow the completion certificate to be properly submitted.

West Lothian Council building standards have produced a guidance document [186KB] for customers who have had a building warrant granted. This document explains the extent of the building standards surveyor role during the construction process. Our  service standard [161KB] lets you know what you can expect from us.

The exact inspections required will be indicated on your Construction Compliance Notification Plan (CCNP), this document is provided to the applicant and agent along with the approved building warrant. It is important to notify building standards in line with the CCNP. Failure to do so may result in areas previous completed having to be exposed to allow an inspection by the building standards surveyor.

Details of how we handle your information can be found in our Privacy notice [318KB]

Completion Certificate Submission

The completion certificate submission (opens new window) (Form 5) must be signed by the relevant person who is normally the person on whose behalf the work is being carried out. The relevant person can be summarised as:

• the owner, tenant or developer doing the building work or conversion themselves; or
• the owner, tenant or developer who has employed a builder to do work for them; or
• the owner, where the tenant, developer or builder has not submitted the certificate when they should have done so.

Note that the owner must always be named on the completion certificate, as the procedure regulations require an owner to be notified when a completion certificate is accepted or rejected. The checks by verifiers and approved certifiers help to protect the public interest but do not remove the relevant person's responsibility for ensuring compliance with the building regulations. A duly authorised agent may sign this completion certificate on behalf of the relevant person but this does not move the responsibility for compliance, which remains with the relevant person

Application for Temporary Occupation

In exceptional circumstances, West Lothian Council building standards may grant permission for the temporary occupation or use of a building. The  application for temporary occupation (opens new window) (model form E) must be submitted. West Lothian Council building standards may grant permission to occupy the building for a specific period of time to allow the building to be completed. Temporary occupation will only be granted where the works outstanding are of a minor nature.

When you submit your completion certificate, we will agree a date with you to inspect the works.

Please note; if electrical work has been carried out you will be required to submit an electrical certificate. You may wish to use an approved certifier of construction. A certification register (opens new window)  is kept by the Scottish Government Building Standards Division.