Many commercial property owners seem to be unaware of the content of an obscure but vital clause in the Construction Regulations 2003. These regulations emanate from The Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 85 of 1993, and took 10 years to be gazetted. The regulation concerned may in time have serious negative consequences for the insurance of commercial buildings. The Regulation under Section 9(4) states as follows:
Any owner of a structure shall ensure that inspections of that structure upon completion are carried out periodically by competent persons in order to render the structure safe for continued use: Provided that the inspections are carried out at least once every six months for the first two years and thereafter yearly and records of such inspections are kept and made available to an inspector upon request.