Article · Codes and approvals
Building responsibility levels and state expert review
Why an inspection is mandatory for some buildings and not others, and how an engineering report helps pass state expert review without remarks.
When it comes to the reconstruction, major repair or floor addition of a capital building, the client almost always faces a requirement to provide a building condition report. The reason is the property's responsibility level: the higher it is, the stricter the requirements for inspection and design.
What a responsibility level is
A responsibility level reflects the importance of a building and the consequences of a possible failure of its structures. Simplified, properties are divided into levels:
Level I (increased). Large and technically complex properties: hospitals, schools, sports and entertainment facilities, buildings with mass occupancy, critical industrial facilities.
Level II (normal). Most capital buildings: administrative, retail, industrial and public buildings, and multi-apartment residential buildings.
Level III (reduced). Temporary and auxiliary structures — the requirements for them are minimal.
Only accredited organisations are permitted to inspect and design properties of responsibility levels I and II. KAZNICEP LLP is accredited specifically for these levels (certificate No. KZ43VWC00251342).
When an inspection is mandatory
A technical inspection of a capital building is required in typical situations:
- before reconstruction, major repair, floor addition and redevelopment;
- when commissioning a property and accepting it after construction;
- when changing the functional use of a building;
- after accidents, fires, flooding and seismic events;
- as input data for design (design documentation) and state expert review.
How the report relates to state expert review
A reconstruction or major-repair design cannot be correctly developed without knowing the actual condition of the structures. That is why a building condition report becomes the input data for the design, and the design itself undergoes state expert review. If the inspection is carried out by an accredited organisation and prepared to the building codes of Kazakhstan, neither the designer nor the client faces remarks on the input data — the review passes without returns.
More about the service — Technical building inspection and Pre-design survey. For organisations separately — a building condition report for legal entities.
What the report contains
A proper report is not a formality but an engineering document: the actual load-bearing capacity of the structures, the technical-condition category, a defect schedule with photo evidence, verification calculations and recommendations. This is exactly the format that designers and expert review accept.
Frequently asked questions
What is a building's responsibility level?
A responsibility level reflects the importance of a building and the consequences of a possible failure of its structures. Conventionally, properties are divided into level I (increased) and level II (normal) — these are capital, technically and technologically complex properties: administrative, industrial and public buildings, schools, hospitals. Only accredited organisations are permitted to inspect and design such properties.
When is a technical inspection mandatory?
An inspection is required before the reconstruction, major repair, floor addition and redevelopment of capital buildings, when commissioning a property, when changing its use, after accidents and seismic events, and as input data for design (design documentation) and passing state expert review.
How is a technical inspection related to state expert review?
A building condition report is the input data for a reconstruction or major-repair design. Design documentation based on such a report undergoes state expert review. If the inspection is carried out by an accredited organisation to the codes of Kazakhstan, the designer faces no remarks on the input data.
Who may inspect properties of levels I and II?
Only organisations accredited for expert works on the technical inspection of the reliability and stability of buildings and structures of the relevant responsibility level. KAZNICEP LLP is accredited for properties of responsibility levels I and II (certificate No. KZ43VWC00251342).
Inspection for
the design and review
We prepare a report as input data for the design documentation — in the format state expert review accepts.