In 1855 the assets, powers and responsibilities of the office passed to the Metropolitan Board of Works.

Authority to administer the Act was given to the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the City of London and the justices of the peace for the counties of Middlesex, Surrey and Kent, the City and Liberty of Westminster and the Liberty of Her Majesty's Tower of London.

The power of the district surveyors did not extend to certain buildings already under separate legislation.

Buildings in this category included royal palaces, bridges, embankments, wharves, gaols and prisons, the Mansion House, the Guildhall, the Royal Exchange, the British Museum and Covent Garden Market.

The creation of the Office introduced a number of changes from 1 January 1845, including: By the Metropolis Management Act 1855 the powers of the Metropolitan Buildings Office passed to the newly created Metropolitan Board of Works.