Comparison of European building control systems

The purpose of the comparison is to provide information about building control systems in Europe. This information may be required by architects, developers and contractors, no longer working in national markets, but in the common market for services and for construction products, in which cross border activities will increase.

The comparison shows that building control in responding countries is less different than expected. While building control originally used to be only performed by authorities, private control elements can today be found in nearly all the responding countries, at least by means of delegation of tasks to independent private experts. In some countries there are also full private building control systems which are often related to insurance systems.

The development of the common market for services and products in the construction sector in Europe will further increase the importance of private building control which can, different to authorities, extend its activities across national borders.