First establish whether you are a domestic client
HSE describes a domestic client as an individual commissioning work on their own home, or a family member’s home, outside a business activity. Work commissioned as part of a property business does not automatically qualify just because the building is residential. This distinction matters for landlords and developers as well as homeowners. [1]
For a domestic project with one contractor, that contractor normally takes the client duties. With more than one contractor, they normally pass to the principal contractor. A principal designer can instead accept those client duties through a written agreement. [1]
Identify the people managing the risks
The CDM principal designer coordinates health and safety during the pre-construction phase. The principal contractor plans, manages and monitors the construction phase and coordinates the contractors involved. These are responsibilities, not simply alternative titles for anyone visiting the site. [2] [3]
Before appointment, ask the proposed team to explain its experience of the actual work: for example, an occupied refurbishment rather than an empty new building. HSE’s advice to domestic clients emphasises using competent people and cooperating with those doing the work. [4]
Prepare for the work, not just the finished building
A construction phase plan must be prepared before the construction phase begins. It addresses how the site will be managed safely; its detail should reflect the project rather than being a generic document with the address changed. The CDM regulations also provide for a health and safety file on projects involving more than one contractor. [5]
For a practical pre-start discussion, ask the team to record:
- how residents and visitors will be kept away from work areas;
- how deliveries and access will be controlled;
- what information about the existing building is still needed;
- who receives reports of a hazard or a proposed change.
These questions turn the coordination duties into arrangements you can understand. Keep the answers with the project records and make clear who can authorise access to the site. [3] [6]
Keep building-regulations appointments separate
England also has principal designer and principal contractor roles under building regulations. Those roles concern compliance with building requirements; CDM concerns construction health and safety. The same organisation may hold both only where appropriately competent and appointed. Confirm both sets of responsibilities rather than assuming one appointment automatically answers the other. [7]