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A principal designer who can no longer cover the role

A commercial client in England appointed your practice as principal designer for a project with several contractors. Eight months in, the one person you designated to manage the principal designer function leaves. Nobody else in the practice has the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to take it on.

England only. Written from The Building Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2214), Part 2A, Dutyholders and competence.

Draft from official sources. Written from the cited official sources with AI assistance. A recorded review by an ARB-registered architect is still to come.

1. Step 1. Which requirement is your practice no longer meeting?

   The principal designer competence requirement: organisational capability to fulfil the principal designer duties.The duty to keep a written record of the appointment steps for higher-risk building work.The client duty to make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring the project.
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2. Step 2. Who must you notify, because you have ceased to satisfy that requirement?

   The client.The principal contractor.Only the building control body, when it next inspects.
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3. Step 3. Your appointment ends before the project does. What must the client do?

   Appoint a new principal designer as soon as reasonably practicable. Until they do, the client must fulfil the principal designer duties.Nothing. The duties of the principal designer pass automatically to the lead contractor.Wait until the construction phase begins, then appoint a replacement.
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