Custom Residential Architects Network

I was looking for some feedback regarding the following Village requirement that I recently encountered on a residential addition project.  This is the specific Village requirement:   

• For all permit work executed with documents prepared by a structural engineer or architect, a letter indicating completion and code compliance must be prepared by the design professional and submitted to the Building Department prior to scheduling the final inspection. The statement must be dated, signed, and sealed by the design professional and submitted 48 hours in advance of the final inspection.  To ensure accurate statements, it is the design professional's responsibility to thoroughly inspect all work prior to preparing the letter. All required building systems must be on line and checked out before the inspections take place. The design professional must state that to the best of their knowledge, information, and belief, the structure and all related systems comply in all respects to all applicable codes and match the Village-approved permit drawings.

My main issue with this requirement lies in the fact that the Architect is taking responsibility for the contractors' work.

Please let me know if anyone else has been confronted with this requirement and how you handled it, from a liability standpoint.  Thank you for any feedback you can provide. 

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Scott Czerkies AIA
Owner
Czerkies Design LLC
Joliet IL
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New Jersey requires that a "Responsible Person in Charge" makes that kind of certification, that the work is done in accordance with the approved drawings. That person can be the owner, the architect, the general contractor or anyone the owner chooses to name (if they are contracted to do this).

The owner has the ultimate responsibility to comply with the code, and owner-architect disputes arise from an architects failure to provide the appropriate standard of care for the work contained in the owner-architect agreement.

The question becomes, how can an architect certify something if they were not hired to supervise the work (beyond normal site visits i.e. construction administration)?

The Responsbile Person in Charge must be present whenever and wherever work is performed in order to do this. That is why this is usually the GC or an owner's agent. Most owners will not hire an architect to be on site 40 hours a week.
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David Del Vecchio AIA
Architect
David Del Vecchio, Architect, LLC
Cranford NJ
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Scott,

I was presented with the same form by Wells Fargo for a commercial tenant improvement project in San Francisco at the beginning of the SBA loan process. I immediately thought this did not sound right and contacted my government affairs representative at AIA California Council and my Errors & Omissions Insurance agent for review. I was told NOT to sign any document that used the term "Certify" in it pertaining to the same issues you are facing.

Here is part of what I sent to the bank in reply:

"As you stated Wells' legal team will be reviewing this, I wanted to provide you with the State of California of California Architects Practice Act subparagraph 5536.26:

 The use of the words "certify" or "certification" by a licensed architect in the practice of architecture constitutes an expression of professional opinion regarding those facts or findings that are subject of the certification, and does not constitute a warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied. Nothing in this section is intended to alter the standard of care ordinarily exercised by a licensed architect.

The Wells document does not clearly state the "certification" does not constitute a warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied."

I modified the bank's original document and crossed out the tern "certification" and replaced it with the term "representation"; crossed out the term "certify" and replaced it with the term "state".

At the first the bank balked, then their legal council reviewed it and agreed to my changes.

Please be very careful here as this is a potential minefield. You may want to reach out to Mike Waldinger, the Executive Director of AIA Springfield, he is a very sharp guy and may be able to put you in contact with some government affairs people.

Feel free to email me off-line or call me if I can be of any further assistance.

Good luck.

James

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James Walbridge AIA
Principal
Tekton Architecture
San Francisco CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-06-2011 14:35
From: David Del Vecchio
Subject: Final Inspection Requirement


New Jersey requires that a "Responsible Person in Charge" makes that kind of certification, that the work is done in accordance with the approved drawings. That person can be the owner, the architect, the general contractor or anyone the owner chooses to name (if they are contracted to do this).

The owner has the ultimate responsibility to comply with the code, and owner-architect disputes arise from an architects failure to provide the appropriate standard of care for the work contained in the owner-architect agreement.

The question becomes, how can an architect certify something if they were not hired to supervise the work (beyond normal site visits i.e. construction administration)?

The Responsbile Person in Charge must be present whenever and wherever work is performed in order to do this. That is why this is usually the GC or an owner's agent. Most owners will not hire an architect to be on site 40 hours a week.
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David Del Vecchio AIA
Architect
David Del Vecchio, Architect, LLC
Cranford NJ
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