What is BCAR (Building Control Amendment Regulations)?

How it works in Ireland

BCAR, from the first letters of Building Control Amendment Regulations, changed the 1997 Building Control Regulations so that compliance is certified rather than checked by council inspectors on every site. Instead of the council inspecting a house, named professionals take responsibility and the council keeps a public register.

For a self-builder the sequence is: appoint a design certifier, an assigned certifier and a builder; file a commencement notice through the BCMS with their documents and the fee; build with inspections; then lodge the certificate of compliance on completion before the house is occupied.

The regulations are a process, not a technical standard. What the house must achieve is in the Building Regulations 1997 and the Technical Guidance Documents. BCAR decides who certifies it and what is filed.

S.I. 365/2015 added an option for the owner of a new single dwelling in a single-unit development, or a domestic extension, to file a Declaration of Intention to Opt Out of Statutory Certification. A valid opt-out removes the certifiers and the completion certificate procedure, but not compliance with the Building Regulations, planning permission or lender conditions. Many lenders still ask for professional reports.

The council’s role changed with it. Building control authorities no longer inspect every house. They validate what is filed, keep the register, and carry out risk-based inspections and can investigate complaints, so the paperwork you lodge is the main record that your house was built properly. A future purchaser, their solicitor and their lender will read that record, which is why the filings matter after you move in.

A common mistake

Treating BCAR as only a form to file when work starts. It governs the whole build, including who inspects it and what must be lodged before you move in. A house occupied before its certificate is on the register breaches the regulations, and a purchaser’s solicitor will ask for the evidence later.