While Building Control Officers (BCO) are entitled to draw plans, municipalities need to ensure that all conflict of interest is avoided when these plans get submitted for local authority approval, Marella O’Reilly, CEO of the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP), said.

O’Reilly and her Legal and Compliance Unit have started a campaign to clarify historic misunderstandings of the law and to educate municipalities and BCOs on ways to avoid instances where a conflict of interest could arise in the profession.

“Any plans drawn by a BCO needs to get submitted for approval to a municipality outside of the jurisdiction of that BCO,” she said. “The very same BCO cannot draw plans and have them approved in the same municipal jurisdiction where they work because no BCO must be in a position to derive personal benefit from the actions or decisions they make in their official municipal capacity.”

Through the Architectural Profession Act (No 44 of 2000), Parliament delegated the SACAP to regulate the architectural profession.

Becoming a registered BCO

While some BCOs are architects, O’Reilly said others come from within the profession itself and noted that a growing number of professionals have formally registered with the SACAP. In order for BCOs to operate legally, they are required by law to be registered.

“To register and maintain their registration with SACAP, architectural professionals must complete Continuing Professional Development activities throughout their career to make sure they maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge, skills and technical duties,” O’Reilly said.

Tips for homeowners before hiring an architectural professional

• Know the different levels of architectural professionals
• Know the type of work they are competent to perform before hiring
• An architectural professional is not necessarily a professional architect
• The profession has different levels and each has a different title
• Each title is capable and competent to perform different functions

Professional levels in SA

• Professional Architectural Draughtspersons (PAD)
• Professional Architectural Technologist (PAT)
• Professional Senior Architectural Technologist (PSAT)
• Professional Architect (Pr Arch)

O’Reilly firmly believes that being registered is good for keeping the built environment safe and the level of professionalism high.