Who is responsible for the safety of use of building?

• There is a misconception that the building safety is the responsibility of the supervisory authorities. In fact, the owner of the building is responsible.
• In addition, owner of every public building from group II and III is obliged to perform a periodic technical survey once every 10 years, engaging a suitably certified construction specialist.
• It should be noted that the building technical survey performed by the State Construction Control Bureau (BVKB) or the building inspector of the building authority does not replace the periodic technical survey of the building, which is carried out once every 10 years.
• In accordance with the provisions of Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 169 “Regulations for the assessment of competence of construction specialists and supervision of independent practice“, the periodic technical survey of buildings is allowed to be carried out by construction specialists who have architect’s practice certificates or construction practice certificates in the fields of building construction design, building construction management or building construction supervision.
• Information about construction specialists is summarised in the Construction Specialists Register of the Construction Information System https://bis.gov.lv/bisp/lv/specialist_certificates.