What is a BREL Report?
Following updates to Part L of the Building Regulations in England last year, Building Regulations England Part L (BREL) reports have become mandatory for all new domestic properties under the Approved Documents.
Project teams must submit an initial design stage BREL report before work starts, followed by an as-built BREL report detailing any key changes and as confirmation that the building meets the required performance level.
These reports are submitted to Building Control as evidence that the building design and installation are compliant. Any issues found can result in a dwelling being deemed non-compliant and may lead to costly remedial work.
At present, the BREL report is generated as a ‘locked PDF’, via the report engine supplied by BRE. This means that it cannot be signed digitally and that each report is required to be printed, scanned, and signed individually by the energy assessor and builder before it can be sent to a Building Control Body.
This is simply not viable for an industry where thousands of reports are issued each year. Should this approach continue, the industry will see significant delays in issuing reports, the delivery of completed certificates from Building Control Bodies, and, more importantly, the delivery of new homes.
Despite promising discussions between SAP software providers, the Government, and BRE earlier this year, no changes have been made.
Elmhurst’s letter to the government calls for urgent action to fix this crucial issue and emphasises the readiness of SAP software providers to work together with BRE and the Government in resolving the situation.
This letter to the Government has been produced by Elmhurst and follows concerns raised by SAP Assessors. It is countersigned by organisations that produce the vast majority of compliance reports for new homes in England, for which this is becoming a business critical issue.
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