2023: What’s Coming Up?

With the new year comes new responsibilities for those within the building safety sector; ground-breaking reforms and important regulations are looming as 2022 draws to a close. It is essential that housing providers are well-prepared to remain compliant and ultimately ensure the safety of all properties and residents at all times.

To help you prepare for the first half of 2023, here are the deadlines you need to have on your building safety radar, with a handful of useful guidance and resources packed alongside them.

From 23rd January 2023, the new Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will come into force, bringing with them new obligations and duties for Responsible Persons. The regulations require that the Responsible Person must take specific and necessary actions depending on the size and height of a building. These requirements are extensive, so you need to ensure that you have the necessary management and operation practices in place. Our Fire Safety webinar is a great free resource to watch on-demand if you’re after any guidance whilst navigating this process.

The main provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022 are then due to come into force on 1st April 2023, placing new duties on building owners / managers for high-rise residential buildings. These include submitting a Safety Case and Safety Case Report to the Building Safety Regulator, therefore it is important that you are aware of the Golden Thread of information, and the data you need to be collecting now in order to develop a comprehensive risk profile of your building. Our next free, live webinar ‘Building Safety: Are you ready for 1^st April?’ will take place Monday 23^rd January at 12:00pm, providing a useful refresher session that will help you understand what you need to focus your attention on over the next couple of months.

In the meantime, download our free Building and Fire Safety checklist to check what you have already covered and what you still need to do.

Registered providers of social housing will have to gather and prepare to publish their performance against the Tenant Satisfaction Measures to the Regulator from 1st April 2023, so now is also the time to be getting to grips with the technical requirements you need to follow. For more in-depth insights into the main questions clients are asking about these requirements, click here.

On our side of things, Pennington Choices have a range of training courses available across January and beyond. One size does not fit all, which is why your teams will receive tailored training across several interrelated areas. From HHSRS to property compliance, effective data management to disrepair training, your organisation can browse the range of options available to manage compliance, inform your teams, and change behaviour.

Keep an eye out for our Ask the Experts podcast series, which will also be continuing monthly throughout 2023, so that you can listen to all of the industry updates you need to be aware of, all in one place. The podcast covers what’s changing, what you need to look out for, and what you need to do to ensure best practice.

As for events, we are looking forward to attending the NHMF Maintenance Conference 2023 in January. Lee Woods, Operations Director for Pennington Choices, will be holding a speaker slot on Tuesday 24^th January at 11:30am in Room C, to talk all about the new Building Safety Act. From covering the technical surveys you will require, to how you tackle the remediation of risks, Lee’s session will provide you with clarity at a time filled with lots of uncertainty.

With over two decades of experience in helping to create safer environments for people and buildings, we can provide any necessary guidance or assistance with preparing for these new regulations and deadlines, no matter which stage you are at in your compliance journey.

Our diverse and experienced team is built-up of technical experts that work across fire safety, gas safety, electrical safety, asbestos management, and water hygiene, to put in place practical solutions to any shortfalls that you may come across throughout your preparation process.