Stroma Building Control Ltd Avis 284

Did the building inspection job well in 2023 - but then when we needed copies of interim reports in 2026 - reports that we had already paid for once - tried to charge us £300 + VAT. We pointed out that the new system means all paperwork is available for free via portal - and that if our project had started just a little later we would have able to downloaded it all for free. They offered to reduce fee to £200 + VAT. It took Stroma employee a few minutes to find our paperwork - but they refused to release it until invoice was paid - but then over a week to actually send us an invoice (despite chasing multiple times) - which meant we missed deadlines with the reports. Don't like companies that try and squeeze every drop of cash out of you. This is one of those companies. Avoid.

My build finished over a year ago. I am still waiting for the sign off certificate. I have chased and chased by phone. Written emails but to no avail. Apparently they are awaiting photographs from the ground workers.
I have now received my sign off certificate.

A thoroughly frustrating experience. Constant changes of surveyors created confusion and disorganisation, with little effective communication throughout. I cannot recommend Stroma Building Control.

My builder and I submitted all necessary drawings and calculations on time and several times over and we are still waiting for this building certificate months after completion of the project in 6 months ago. The completion inspection was made and the surveyor said it's all good to go but lead surveyor to send the certificate who never came back. I’ve phoned and emailed numerous times and I’ve never dealt with a company as so difficult to deal with. I’m in the process of seeking further advice by other professionals.

I made the complain to Stroma and everytime the responses were like a robot without any progress made. Eventually they sent a letter to cancel the initial notice, all due to fact that the lead surveyor is always busy and not responding to us.

Great service with timely visits as requested from Stroma's common sense surveyor. Perfect for our project.

Great service, great communication
Made booking and arranging building control effortless..

Thank uoj.

I had to chase for months to get someone from STROMA to come out and do the final inspection of my extension.
Then a form appears that needs filling in but the work is completed and builders have gone and now its my responsibility to complete it. I'm a home owner not a contractor.! What I am paying you for.?
Then of course they want other documents from me which have taken 6 months to acquire. Upon sending them over, Sorry, we have canceled and closed your case with no certificate. And and thanks for the £800 + VAT that they haven't refunded. Never have I dealt with such cowboys in my life. Avoid this company at all coat and go directly to the local council office. At least they return calls.

A very prompt and professional service. I was kept informed and never left waiting. Thank you v much

We used this company for a house reconfiguration project.
Overall, we felt the company had poor communication. We found ourselves resending emails and documents because the original email was not acknowledged. When we requested a final inspection, the inspector was on leave; however the alternative office email addresses that were provided and which we contacted did not send anybody in their place. As a result, we were delayed getting a final inspection. We then got no acknowledgement of a particular document that we sent so were not informed that it was not satisfactory. This resulted in us being further delayed and receiving a worrying email from the Communications team stating that we had 2 weeks to send certain documents approximately a week before Christmas - only to find that the offices were shut between Christmas and New Year.
Frankly we were relieved when we got the final certificate and no longer had to try communicate with this company, as it was a stressful experience.

We are a small building company. We usually convert houses into Mid to High-end apartments. This is the first time we have used them and found them Excellent, pragmatic, inspected when asked. Dan White, is a no-nonsence inspector and is a credit to them. I have them booked for our next project.

We have been using Bhavik and his team on numerous projects now. They have been excellent throughout the process from start to finish. They give honest advice to our clients to ensure a smooth process to completion. Keep up the good work Bhavik!!

If I could give a -1, I would. My family used Stroma for their house renovation from April through to October last year. The negative experience stems from having been assigned someone who can only be described as an awful project manager. Her continuous delay in response times was beyond unacceptable (7-10 days)-and resulted in unnecessary delays. It was also clear she wasn’t accurately reading emails. On several occasions she stated we had failed to provide updates, when in fact, these had been provided in good time. She was disorganised, unprofessional and at times, confrontational- exemplified by her terse responses - a clear lack of professionalism of any kind, We submitted our complaints to you almost two weeks ago- why the delay? If this particular PM is the benchmark at which you set all employees, I’d avoid working with your firm. The level of service, and the communication style, would not be acceptable in any of our working environments so I am surprised this is tolerated in your organisation . Should we fail receive a response by mid- next week, I will escalate this matter to your CEO and I will be outing this individual in that escalation. Avoid Stroma as project managers appear to be absolutely abysmal, and makes an already stressful process, even more challenging.

Very easy to communicate with and resolved any queries promptly.

Had a great experience with Harvir, inspections were carried out in a timely manner, making sure there was no delays, with great organisation and clear instruction, overall we had an excellent experience dealing with Stroma building control.

Storma were very accommodating when arranging site visits and communicated well via email and phone calls. Very helpful. Final certificate issued the same day as final inspection

We have used Stroma on a few of our projects and they were always great.Inspector is knowledgeable, helpful and easy to reach.
Highly recommend them!

My project finished more than a year ago. The BC inspector is unreachable. No sign of completion certificate yet. Numerous attempts by Builder and Myself to reach out to BC inspector went in vein.

Very big Thank you to Adam, any little problem i had Adam was always on the phone ready to help, without his help dont know what i would of done, Thank you

I had a very disappointing experience with Stroma Building Control during my home extension.

Their inspectors initially accepted my flat roof and firring pieces as compliant. After I sent them photos and measurements showing that the roof fall was far below the minimum 1:80 requirement (around 1:140), they later changed their view and deemed the roof non-compliant.

Because the roof had been “passed” at the earlier inspection, my builder demanded final payment and then walked off the job when the roof was rejected. I was left to pay a second contractor to strip and rebuild the entire roof at my own expense.

Despite providing all correspondence proving this sequence of events, Stroma have denied any responsibility, stating that their inspections are only “sample checks.”

The issue was clear and easily measurable at the time of inspection and should have been flagged. The result was months of delay, financial loss, and huge stress.

I would urge anyone appointing Stroma to keep independent oversight of their builders and not rely on Stroma’s inspection reports.

Update after Stroma's response ---------------
Thank you for your response, Mark.

This matter has already been reviewed through Stroma’s formal complaints process under reference OPP-099263. During that review, Stroma acknowledged that the inspection comments made on 4 January 2024 were inaccurate, while maintaining that no responsibility was accepted on the basis that inspections are “reasonable checks” only.

The inspection report nevertheless recorded the roof fall as “satisfactory”, and it was only later confirmed by Stroma that the fall did not meet the minimum 1:80 requirement. That initial assessment materially affected how the works proceeded and ultimately resulted in the roof being rebuilt at my expense.

I remain open to Stroma reopening and reviewing this complaint again in light of the full correspondence and evidence already provided, should you wish to reconsider the decision.

Until then, my review reflects my experience so that others can make an informed decision and ensure appropriate independent oversight alongside building control inspections.

Great company and helped me along the way with build, will use them again in the near future