There are many new requirements under the new legislation

With the introduction of Building Safety Act 2022 – a new, enhanced framework for high-rise buildings in England, taking forward recommendations from the Hackitt review – accountability and responsibility for the design, construction and occupation of those buildings has been significantly strengthened. Ultimately, this will mean greater scrutiny of risk by a higher number of people across the lifecycle of the building and stronger enforcement and sanctions should any of the new rules be breached.

There are many new requirements under the new legislation, and a significant amount of work will be needed to get properties, systems and records in order to meet these requirements. In a recent survey, in partnership with Inside Housing, we found that many organisations still have a lot of work to do and it is clear from the results that there is a need for better support and education around how best to manage the compliance demands of the new regime.

The new legal duties will be enforced by a new arm of the HSE Building Safety Act 2022, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), who has been given specific enforcement powers to investigate and prosecute duty holders who fail to comply. The BSR will also be able to issue a formal warning if it is thought that the breach of duties could result in a serious risk to health and safety.

Those responsible for a high-rise residential building (defined as 18 metres or more and 7 storeys in height with two or more dwellings) will be required to register the building with the BSR within six months of its coming into force, and will then be invited to submit a Safety Management System. This must be submitted on a five year cycle and the accountable person will have to review it at prescribed intervals.

In addition to a mandatory occurrence reporting system, there will be an obligation to prepare and operate a Residents’ Engagement Strategy to promote participation in decision making in the building. This will have to be reviewed at prescribed times and revised where considered necessary.

A key change under the new legislation is that any claim for breach of the Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA) will be able to be brought up to 15 years from Practical Completion, compared with the standard 6 years. This will be of particular concern to owners and developers of older projects where claims have often long since passed the statute of limitations for DPA.

It is imperative that all stakeholders involved in a project work with the mindset that operational safety will be the central focus of their activities, rather than simply the focus of the initial design and construction phase. Everyone needs to ensure that the safety requirements of the new legislation are embedded throughout a project and that all parties work together with a clear understanding of the responsibilities that will be placed on them for the lifetime of a building. This will be the only way to achieve the desired outcome of a building that is safe for its occupiers.