Contractors, construction firms, property developers and home owners should be aware that the time for mandatory compliance with Barbados building code is drawing near.
This has come with news from The Ministry of Transport and Works, in a press release on January 22nd 2010. According to the Ministry’s release, that department is actively pursuing the legal and administrative structure for the mandatory implementation of the Building Code.
At a time when there is the popular belief that there is little or very late action from Government when there is public concern expressed about any issue, the Ministry announced that the news was in response to public concerns about the status of proposals to give legal effect to the code, which has been in existence since 1992. Even though the government Department has not given a specific time-line for the code to become mandatory, the news certainly seems timely, given the devastation with the massive Haiti earthquake that caused numerous buildings to crumble in the absence of mandatory building codes in that country.
Moreover, the announcement is an interesting development for Barbados’ real estate sector, which is tipped to see a very active year for 2010. The mandatory compliance provision comes against the background of a growing number of contractors, the possibility of homes not being able to withstand powerful earthquakes and hurricanes and the industry being turned into a billion dollar sector over the last two decades.
The lead government body that will be responsible for the pending legal provision will be the Building Standards Authority. The charge for the Building code will encompass establishing technical standards for buildings to ensure the health, safety and welfare of persons in and around buildings, ensuring the registration of building practitioners, granting building permits and completion certificates, issuing notices and orders and facilitating an appeals process.
According to the press release, The Authority will also promote the construction of buildings with adequate provisions for persons with disabilities, assist in the cost effective construction of buildings and assist in the achievement of a cost effective building industry.
Over the last six years, the Authority, which has a skeletal staff of 11 persons, and has inter alia, been working assiduously towards the preparation of a Building Bill. The Authority has also been working in collaboration with the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) towards the preparation of a revised Barbados National Building Code; working towards the development of a manual for the construction of houses and small buildings; and practicing on drawings of existing and proposed buildings to check their compliance in accordance with the provisions of the Barbados National Building Code.
