Building Safety Act Update

The secondary legislation under the Building Safety Act 2022 will come into force on 1 October 2023 and this is also the deadline for registering existing Higher Risk Buildings (i.e. residential buildings which are at least 18m high or have at least seven storeys and contain two or more dwellings) with the Building Safety Regulator.

Registration must be made by the Principal Accountable Person or somebody authorised by them (e.g a managing agent or lawyer)  and an unregistered building cannot be occupied after this date.

The new suite of regulations impose obligations on dutyholders (including clients, designers and contractors) and an updated procedure for building regulations approval as well as amending the Building Regulations 2010 so that the Building Safety Regulator is now the sole building control authority for Higher Risk Buildings.

There are transitional arrangements for buildings that are in the course of construction and either full plans are deposited or initial notice given and accepted before 1 October 2023 and “sufficient progress” is made before 6 April 2024, in which case the previous Building Regulations will still apply.