Last updated: 12th April 2024
The new Building Safety Act 2022 (“The Act”) aims to reform building safety legislation, necessary well before the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017.
The proposals, a direct result of the tragedy which killed 72 people, were recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt in her 2018 review of fire safety and building regulations.
Having been introduced to parliament in July 2021, the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force from 1st April 2023 and introduces new duties for the management of fire and building safety in high-rise residential buildings. As of 1st October 2023, the new regime of the Act came into law, including changes to the requirements for higher-risk buildings, increased responsibilities for building owners, and changes to the fire safety legislation.
It is one of several pieces of legislation and guidance being implemented by the Government to enhance building safety, including the Fire Safety Act 2021 - which you can read more about here. Importantly, the Building Safety Act 2022 will help people be and feel safer in their homes and will change the way buildings are designed, constructed, and managed.
"As we pass this huge milestone this month my greatest wish is for us all to commit to work together to make the new building safety regime work for everyone – but most of all – for all residents everywhere." - Dame Judith Hackitt on the new building safety regime.
Dame Judith Hackitt delved into the April 2024 changes to building safety in her latest blog, sharing her views on the building safety journey and calling for collaboration going into the new regime. Reflecting on these changes, she emphasises their significance, labelling them as one of the most important work programmes she has ever undertaken. She also makes it clear that whilst this is a crucial milestone, "this is not the end of the journey". She highlights her biggest concern as the number of people who persist in finding reasons not to act, demonstrating the need for proactive engagement moving forward.
From 1st October 2023:
December 2023:
The BSR has released their enforcement policy statement in which they set out their enforcement methods, including:
January 2024:
From 1st April 2024:
To discover more about the April updates, catch up on our latest webinar, 'Building Safety Act 2022: Latest legislative updates', to hear our building safety experts discuss the headline requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 and best practices developed by organisations adapting to the changes over the past year. Discover the answers to the most common building safety questions to stay compliant with the new regime that commended in April.
By April 2026:
The BSR has released their strategic three year plan where they outlined their approach from now until 2026 and beyond.
The requirements set out in the Building Safety Act 2022 will affect building owners/managers and the built environment industry. This includes those who commission building work and who participate in the design and construction process, including clients, designers, and contractors.
Discover more about the new building safety legislation in our recent webinar 'Building Safety: Safety Cases and New Legislation' which is available to watch on-demand now. Our experts discussed how you can stay compliant with new legislation with key lessons learnt from working with organisations on their building safety cases and building safety approaches.
Described as “the biggest change to building safety regulation in a generation”, the Building Safety Act 2022 will see the implementation of two key roles – Building Safety Regulator and Accountable Person.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will be responsible for overseeing the safety and performance systems of all buildings. They will be given powers to enforce the rules and act against those that break them. And for high-risk properties, they will be able to implement more stringent rules, including how they are designed, constructed, and occupied.
The 3 main functions of the BSR:
The Accountable Person (building owner, freeholder, or management company) will have an ongoing duty to assess building safety risks and provide a ‘Safety Case Report’ which demonstrates how building safety risks are being identified, mitigated, and managed on an ongoing basis. They will also have to demonstrate how they are ensuring residents’ safety. In buildings where ownership structures are complex, there may be more than one Accountable Person, in which case there will be a Principal Accountable Person.
Amendments to the Act have removed the clause which would have required the Accountable Person to appoint a Building Safety manager to support in the planning, managing, and monitoring of the various tasks necessary to ensure that Accountable Persons’ duties are complied with. Whilst the prescribed role has been removed, the Accountable Person’s responsibilities for complying with the overall requirements of the Act are unchanged, and they will have to put in place appropriate arrangements to ensure they meet these. The Accountable Person will therefore have the flexibility to determine what staffing structures, skills and competencies are appropriate for their risks and ensure people are trained to carry out the function.
Want to understand how prepared you are for your new
obligations on building safety? Download our free Building Safety self-assessment to see where you are on your building safety
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The new requirements of the Building Safety Act do not just apply to taller buildings. Parts of the Act will have implications for ALL buildings as it will make the BSR responsible for the performance of the building control sector to ensure standards are met, and for setting building standards. The Building Safety Act 2022 will establish a New Homes Ombudsman scheme for new build properties, to hold developers to account. The BSR will also be given powers to regulate construction products for the UK.
Those who are designing and constructing higher risk buildings will have formal responsibility for complying with building regulations, reducing risks, and ensuring that those who create Building Safety risks are responsible for managing them.
The Building Safety Act 2022 will enforce the requirements for keeping vital, up-to-date safety information about how a building has been designed, built, and managed. This ‘Golden Thread of Information’ will be stored digitally for the entire life of the building. It enables you to understand a building and the steps needed to keep both the building and people safe, now and in the future.
The Act will place specific duties on organisations which own and manage high rise residential buildings to take a range of specific and prescribed actions to identify risks, put the required measures in place to keep the building and its’ residents safe, and to evidence how they are doing this. The BSR will assess compliance with the duties, and if it is satisfied they are being met will issue a Building Assessment Certificate to permit the building to be occupied.
In addition, a building safety charge will be introduced, so leaseholders can see and know what they are being charged for building safety, and there will be powers to limit the costs that can be charged. New sanctions of up to two years in prison and unlimited fines will be in place for anyone breaking legal duties.
The draft bill was announced in July of 2020, and its First Reading took place a year later in 2021. The Act received Royal Assent and completed all the parliamentary stages in becoming an Act of Parliament in April 2022. All buildings in scope of the Act needed to be registered with the BSR before October 2023. The Higher-Risk Buildings (Key Building Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2023 define the key building information which was to be submitted by 30 September 2023. For new buildings completed after 1st October 2023, a relevant completion certificate or final notice is needed. The buildings must be registered before any residents can occupy them.
Once registered, the Accountable Person(s) must apply for a Building Assessment Certificate, a process which began on 1st April 2024, which includes information about the reasonable steps taken to prevent building safety risks. This information will include a Building Safety Case Report. Get ahead of the game and start storing information via a golden thread sooner rather than later, as this information will be needed for both current and future builds. To discover how to create a comprehensive safety case report, head over to our dedicated blog, 'Building Safety Case Report: What you should include'.
Our free, on-demand webinar 'Building Safety: Are you ready for 1st April?' provides a useful refresher session that will take you through the key things you need to be thinking about now to have assurance that you're compliant with the new regime. Hear from an organisation who have spent time preparing, and learn how they have approached their duties, what they have learnt, and what their key challenges and significant issues have been. Watch below now!
At Pennington Choices, we understand the difficulties the sector faces in meeting its Building Safety obligations. The introduction of the new legislation aims to create a universal shift in responsibility and culture within the building industry. And whilst new sanctions of up to two years in prison and unlimited fines will be in place for anyone breaking regulatory requirements, results from a recent exclusive survey in partnership with Inside Housing highlighted just how much work the sector still need to do meet their legal requirements.
Read the full survey results here.
Under the Building Safety Act 2022, owners/managers will be required to collect, monitor, and manage data on their buildings and how safety risks are being managed to satisfy the Golden Thread of Information obligations and provide the evidence for their safety cases.
Need some more insight into what the golden thread is, and how you can plan and implement it? Watch our 'Building Safety: Implementing the Golden Thread of Information' webinar on-demand here. Gain valuable insight into the 10 golden thread principles, alongside a clear understanding of what you need to consider to meet your golden thread requirements.
A Safety Case Report is a document that demonstrates Building Safety risks have been assessed and all reasonable steps are being taken to prevent risk. It is the primary way the BSR will hold the Accountable Person to account for identifying risks and hazards and managing them. The report is specific to the building in question and must remain valid and ready for review when required. The Safety Case report is assisted by the golden thread of information which delivers complete information and evidence around the assessment and management of Building Safety risks.
When considering what system(s) to use to hold your data, getting the key principles of accurate data management are as important as the functionality of the system you use – our blog on data accuracy guides you through this.You will then need to think about whether any system you currently use will give you all the information you need to compile your Safety Case Report and hold your golden thread, or whether you can pull together different parts of data and work with it to meet your obligations. Catch our webinar on data management to help you consider this here.
Our Building Safety Gap Analysis assesses your housing assets and Building Safety management approach against the proposals set out in the Building Safety Act 2022 and the changes to fire safety legislation. Assessing your current approach to managing Building Safety and reviewing your asset profile and your planned development, the Gap Analysis will enable you to look forward and understand your future obligations under the Building Safety Act 2022.
At Pennington Choices, we offer registered providers and property owners a range of advice and services to help solve your property management issues. Having worked for over 20 years delivering projects to property providers and landlords nationally, we have significant consulting experience.
Click to read how we helped Arches Housing understand their compliance position across the “big five” areas of gas safety, fire safety, water hygiene, electrical safety, and asbestos management.
We can help you ensure your property portfolio complies with both current and future legislation, and help you to prepare for the Building Safety Act 2022 by providing you with the assurance that you are meeting your obligations to ensure your residents live in safe homes which meet legal standards.
For even more insight into how you should be preparing for April 2024 and beyond, click here to read our Building Safety Act 2022 Summary blog.