An agreement signed today between South Africa’s housing regulator and construction professionals’ body will mean that housing inspectors will now be required to register with a professional body in order to carry out their work.
According to National Home Builders Registrations Council (NHBRC) CEO Mongezi Mnyani, the agreement signed between it and the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) came about as a result of a gap identified by the NHBRC for the professional qualification and accreditation of building inspectors.
The partnership will enable the development of Continuing Professional Development training programmes that building inspectors will have to undertake in order to maintain their accreditation.
Mnyani says that the NHBRC has been playing a vital role in ensuring that building standards are upheld and consumers are protected from issues arising from poorly constructed buildings through its stringent requirements and regular inspections of all NHBRC registered building projects. He adds that the professionalisation of the building inspection process will benefit both the South African public and the construction industry at large.
“The NHBRC looks forward to the improvement that this move will bring to housing standards in the country and we believe that it will go a long way to support our efforts as we fulfil our mandate’ he says.
NHBRC inspections are designed to mitigate against risks associated with building a new home and to protect consumers against shoddy workmanship. A newly enrolled home is subjected to a minimum of four and a maximum of eight inspections depending on the enrolment value of the home. This includes foundation, structure of the house and roofing.