Does CDM apply to domestic projects?

The important difference is that a domestic client is not normally expected to manage the CDM client duties personally. Under Regulation 7, most of those duties pass to the contractor, Principal Contractor or, where there is a written agreement, the Principal Designer. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

Who is a domestic client under CDM 2015?

A domestic client is someone who has construction work carried out on their own home, or the home of a family member, where the work is not being done in connection with a business. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

The definition is about the purpose for which the work is being commissioned. A private householder having an extension built for their own use may be a domestic client. A landlord, housing association, local authority, charity or business commissioning work on residential property is not automatically a domestic client simply because the building is a home. HSE L153 guidance: Managing health and safety in construction, Regulation 7, domestic clients, PDF (opens in a new tab)

What types of domestic work can fall under CDM?

CDM can apply to a wide range of domestic construction work because the definition of construction work is broad.

• Extensions and structural alterations.
• Loft conversions.
• Kitchen or bathroom refurbishment where the work includes construction activities.
• Roof replacement or significant roof repairs.
• Electrical, heating, plumbing or other fixed building-services work.
• Demolition or dismantling.
• Major maintenance, repair or renovation work.
• Garden structures, retaining walls or other construction work associated with the home.

Whether CDM applies depends on the nature of the work, not simply on the fact that the project is domestic, small or privately funded.

What happens to the client’s duties on a domestic project?

Regulation 7 sets out a special arrangement for domestic clients. The duties in Regulations 4(1) to (7) and Regulation 6 are carried out by another duty holder. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

• If there is only one contractor, the contractor carries out those client duties.
• If there is more than one contractor, the Principal Contractor carries out those client duties.
• The Principal Designer can carry out those duties where there is a written agreement with the domestic client.

This means the domestic client does not normally need to understand and administer the same CDM management arrangements as a commercial client.

What happens on a single-contractor domestic project?

Where a domestic project involves only one contractor, that contractor takes on the client duties covered by Regulation 7 as well as their own contractor duties. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

The contractor must therefore consider the project as a whole, including the arrangements needed to manage the work and the information required before construction starts.

What happens when there is more than one contractor?

Where a domestic project involves, or it is reasonably foreseeable that it will involve, more than one contractor, the project requires a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor. Read Regulation 5 on legislation.gov.uk: appointment of the principal designer and the principal contractor (opens in a new tab)

For the domestic-client duties that transfer under Regulation 7, the Principal Contractor normally carries them out unless the Principal Designer has agreed in writing to fulfil them. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

What if the domestic client does not appoint a Principal Designer or Principal Contractor?

CDM 2015 provides a fallback where a domestic client does not make the appointments required for a multi-contractor project. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

• The designer in control of the pre-construction phase becomes the Principal Designer.
• The contractor in control of the construction phase becomes the Principal Contractor.

The absence of a formal appointment therefore does not remove the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor functions from the project.

Can a Principal Designer take on the domestic client’s duties?

Yes. A domestic client and Principal Designer can make a written agreement for the Principal Designer to carry out the client duties covered by Regulation 7. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

Where there is no such written agreement, the default transfer is to the contractor on a single-contractor project or the Principal Contractor on a multi-contractor project.

Does a domestic project need a construction phase plan?

Yes, where the work is a construction project under CDM. A construction phase plan is required before the construction phase begins.

On a single-contractor domestic project, the contractor is responsible for ensuring the plan is prepared. On a multi-contractor project, the Principal Contractor is responsible for drawing it up or arranging for it to be drawn up.

Does a domestic project need a health and safety file?

A health and safety file is required where the project involves more than one contractor.

The Principal Designer prepares and develops the file during the project, with the Principal Contractor taking over if the Principal Designer’s appointment ends before completion. At the end of the project, the completed file is handed to the client.

Can a domestic project be notifiable to HSE?

Yes. Domestic projects are not excluded from the F10 notification requirements.

If the project meets the Regulation 6 notification thresholds, the notification duty that would normally sit with the client is carried out under the domestic-client arrangements in Regulation 7. Read Regulation 6 on legislation.gov.uk: notice of a construction project, including the notification thresholds (opens in a new tab)

This should not be confused with whether CDM applies. A domestic project can be subject to CDM without being notifiable.

Do designers and contractors still have their normal CDM duties?

Yes. The domestic-client provisions mainly change how the client’s duties are dealt with. Designers and contractors still have their own duties under CDM.

For example, designers must eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks through design, while contractors must plan, manage and monitor the construction work under their control.

What about work carried out in connection with a business?

The domestic-client provisions only apply where the project is not being carried out in connection with a business. Read Regulation 7 on legislation.gov.uk: application to domestic clients, including transferred duties and the fallback appointments (opens in a new tab)

If work on a home is commissioned as part of a business activity, the person or organisation commissioning it may instead be a commercial client. Examples can include landlords, businesses operating from domestic premises, housing providers and organisations commissioning work on residential property.

Domestic CDM project checklist

For a domestic construction project, check that:

• The proposed work falls within the CDM definition of construction work.
• It is clear whether the person commissioning the work is genuinely a domestic client.
• The number of contractors involved, or reasonably expected to be involved, has been established.
• On a single-contractor project, the contractor understands the client duties that transfer to them.
• On a multi-contractor project, the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor roles are clear.
• Any written agreement for the Principal Designer to carry out the transferred client duties is explicit.
• A construction phase plan is prepared before the construction phase begins.
• Relevant project and site information is shared with designers and contractors.
• A health and safety file is prepared where the project involves more than one contractor.
• F10 notification is considered separately against the Regulation 6 thresholds.
• Designers and contractors continue to discharge their own CDM duties.

Common mistakes on domestic projects

Assuming domestic work is exempt from CDM

CDM 2015 can apply to domestic projects; Regulation 7 mainly changes who carries out the client duties.

Assuming the householder must personally manage CDM

Most client duties transfer to the contractor, Principal Contractor or an agreed Principal Designer.

Forgetting the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor trigger

A project involving more than one contractor still requires those functions.

Thinking a small domestic project cannot be notifiable

Notification depends on the Regulation 6 thresholds, not whether the project is domestic.

Confusing a domestic property with a domestic client

A business, landlord or organisation commissioning work on residential property may be a commercial client.

Ignoring the construction phase plan

A domestic project that falls within CDM still requires construction-phase planning.