Received a mandatory window inspection notice? Who to appoint and what follows

Read the notice before booking any work

A statutory notice under the Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme specifies when the prescribed inspection and any necessary prescribed repair must be completed. It may cover windows in individual private premises as well as common parts. Check the addressee, building and flat details, the windows concerned and the deadline on the actual notice. Agree with the management office or owners’ corporation which arrangements concern common windows and which concern your flat; a notice involving your flat should not be left solely to the corporation.

If your flat is let, you still need to organise compliance as the owner. A tenant who receives the notice should pass it to the owner and cooperate with notified access for inspection or repair. This statutory process has appointment and submission requirements beyond an ordinary flat handover check.

Buildings Department: scheme procedures

Buildings Department: owners, corporations and tenants

Use the right people for inspection and repair

Appoint a Qualified Person, or QP, under the scheme to carry out the prescribed inspection personally. The QP assesses whether a window has become dangerous or is liable to become dangerous. Check the person’s current entry on the Buildings Department register. It is useful to compare written quotations that state which windows are covered, the inspection fee and the expected date, instead of relying on an unverified claim of qualification.

If the QP finds prescribed repair necessary, appoint either a registered general building contractor or a registered minor works contractor registered for the relevant window works. The repair must be supervised by a QP, who can be the original inspector or another QP. Before agreeing to work, verify the contractor’s registration scope and obtain an itemised proposal covering the repair and supervision. A QP who is also registered as a contractor for the relevant window work may undertake the repair as well. Check that registration covers the work and that QP supervision is arranged.

Buildings Department: QP and contractor roles

Buildings Department: appointment and quotation advice

Check the submission and keep evidence

The appointed QP must submit a certificate in the specified form to the Buildings Department after the prescribed inspection and any prescribed repair are completed. Confirm that this was done even where no repair was required. Ask for copies of the certificate, inspection record and, where relevant, the repair details and before and after photos. Check that the documents identify the same flat and windows as the notice.

Keep the notice, appointments, quotations, invoices, photographs and certificate together. They make it easier to follow up on the notice status or answer a future purchaser’s questions. The department may audit submitted records and inspect the site, so retain the QP’s and contractor’s contact details.

Buildings Department: certificates and site audits

If the deadline cannot be met

Apply to the Buildings Department in writing for more time as soon as a real scheduling problem becomes clear. Explain the reason and include useful evidence, such as appointment dates or a proposed repair timetable. The department considers extensions case by case. An application alone does not grant an extension: keep its reply and work to the deadline that the department confirms.

• Match the notice to the owner, windows and stated completion date.
• Check the QP’s registration, obtain a written quote and arrange a personal inspection.
• If repair is prescribed, verify the contractor’s registration for that work and the QP supervision.
• Request the records and certificate copy; seek any extension with written reasons early.

Buildings Department: extension applications and owner duties