A BRIEF HISTORY OF BUILDING CONTROL
Building Control in some form or other has existed since ancient times. However the most extensive changes in the extent and methods of control here have happened since 1973.
In ancient Greece there was a crude form of constraint largely exercised by the amount of building which could be contained within a city wall. 
Also from ancient Babylon we have Hammurabi’s Code of Laws (Circa 1780 BC) where one finds that (qu) If a builder build a house for someone and does not construct it properly and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.
Building Control in the UK can be traced back to London as long ago as 1189, when Regulations relating to party walls, rights of light, drainage and related matters were made. Also, around this time fire-resistant construction and rudimentary means of escape in case of fire were subject to regulation.
However, it was after the Great Fire of London that the first comprehensive Building Act came onto the statute book. This included provisions for the appointment of surveyors who were charged with the duty of ensuring that the regulations were observed.
During the 19th century, cholera and typhus epidemics highlighted the health risks which the occupants of poorly designed and constructed buildings with no sanitary accommodation were subjected to and resulted in the introduction in 1878 of the Public Health Act of Ireland, which gave power to local authorities to control new buildings by the introduction of building bye-laws. These bye-laws, which would appear to be the first positive attempt to introduce some standards and control over building works in this country, remained in force until 1954 when the Ministry of Health and Local Government published a new set of bye-laws with respect to buildings under the Public Health Acts (NI) 1878 to 1949 and The Planning and Housing Act (NI) 1931. The new bye-laws were drafted by a committee of professional officers from local authorities, statutory undertakings, the Northern Ireland Housing Trust and the Ministry, and adopted by local authorities in 1955. Their introduction throughout the province resulted in some uniformity of control over the design and construction of new buildings.
The Minister of Finance (Northern Ireland) set up a committee in 1967 to report on the control of building in Northern Ireland; In view of the recent introduction of new building regulations in England, Wales and Scotland and to submit its recommendations on the changes considered necessary to revise building standards and control in the province. The Committee recommended that the Building Regulations already in use in England should, with some modifications, be adopted for use throughout Northern Ireland. This recommendation, which was accepted by the Minister, was passed by the Northern Ireland Parliament in the form of a statutory instrument known as ‘The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 No 1996 (NI19).
The Order granted the Ministry of Finance for Northern Ireland authority to make building regulations in conjunction with a Building Regulations Advisory Committee and provided for the enforcement of building regulations by Borough/District councils in accordance with the Order. These regulations were first introduced into Northern Ireland on 1st October 1973 and have been amended, revised and added to ever since.
