A building-inspection notice covers the building or specified parts. A window or air-conditioner service receipt cannot establish completion; begin with the actual notice and appointments.
What to have ready
Identify the scope and records
BD's Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme concerns buildings aged thirty years or above that have been served statutory notices, excluding domestic buildings of no more than three storeys. Relevant owners appoint a Registered Inspector for the prescribed inspection and supervision of necessary repairs to covered common parts, external walls and projections or signboards. Establish your obligation from the notice itself. Meeting the age criterion does not mean that every facility inside your home is covered by a served notice.
A Registered Inspector for building inspection and a Qualified Person for window inspection are distinct roles. Necessary prescribed repairs require a suitable registered contractor and inspector supervision. BD's forms distinguish appointment, inspection with or without required repairs, and repair certification. The inspection report, construction quotation and statutory forms serve different purposes. Include them in the appointment scope from the beginning so that a completed site visit is not mistaken for a completed statutory process.
Practical steps to follow
- Keep every page and check the building, address, notice number, covered parts and deadline. Follow the notice-status tool from BD's scheme page. Independently verify anyone claiming by phone or advertisement to represent the department through its published contact channel.
- Verify the proposed inspector's name, registration number and current details in BD's official register. Itemise inspection, reports, necessary repair supervision and submissions in writing. If construction is separately priced, establish who supplies it and how the scope and cost will be approved.
- Coordinate access through management and owners for common parts and relevant private projections. Use the inspection findings to define repairs, requesting locations, methods and supervision records. A single all-inclusive total does not explain which defects will be addressed or who checks the work.
- Confirm the applicable MBI forms, attachments and recipient with the inspector, checking the address and notice number. Obtain reports, submitted copies and acknowledgements, then check official status or ask the authority about any unresolved update rather than relying on final payment alone.
A worked example and wording to adapt
A corporation receives a common-parts notice while an owner has a balcony-related scope. The inspector identifies what the joint appointment covers and what needs a separate arrangement. The request says: 'Please list the locations covered by this notice, repairs identified after inspection, supervision arrangements and the final MBI documents to be supplied.' If no prescribed repair is needed, the owners still confirm the appropriate certificate. Where repairs are required, they follow the case through the repair report and submission rather than stopping after inspection.
Follow-up and completion checks
BD lists submission problems such as mismatched premises, missing signatures, incorrect registration details and absent reports. Ask the submitting person to check those items and explain whether any returned document has been corrected and resubmitted. A sent email does not itself establish accepted processing.
Use the notice's deadline and formal authority arrangements, asking promptly about the applicable process if more time is needed. For specified housing-estate premises, confirm the Independent Checking Unit's routing from official instructions. Address an immediate danger through appropriate help instead of waiting for the inspection appointment.
Track the notice, inspector, repairs and documents together through completion.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.