Building Safety Act 2022
The Building Safety Act 2022 creates the Building Safety Regulator, establishes a new regime for higher-risk buildings, and extends remediation obligations for unsafe cladding.
Who is affected: Owners, developers, residents, and managing agents of higher-risk buildings (residential buildings above 18 metres or 7 storeys) and all those involved in construction in England
What Changed
The Building Safety Act 2022 was enacted in response to the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017 and the subsequent Hackitt Review. It creates the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as a division of the Health and Safety Executive, which acts as the building control authority for higher-risk buildings (those above 18 metres or 7 storeys in height with at least two residential units). The Act introduces a 'gateway' regime: new higher-risk buildings must obtain BSR approval before work begins (Gateway 1), during construction (Gateway 2), and before occupation (Gateway 3). Developers and building owners must appoint a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor, and maintain a 'golden thread' of building information throughout the lifecycle of the building. Leaseholders in higher-risk buildings receive new protections: landlords above a certain net worth or portfolio size cannot pass the cost of certain cladding and fire safety remediation works to leaseholders through the service charge. The limitation period for bringing claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 is extended to 30 years retrospectively.
What To Do
Owners and managers of buildings above 18 metres must register their buildings with the BSR and appoint an Accountable Person who is legally responsible for the building's safety case. Leaseholders who have received service charge demands for cladding remediation should check whether the building is within scope of the leaseholder protections under Schedule 8 of the Act before paying. Developers and construction professionals must comply with the new duty-holder regime and 'golden thread' documentation requirements for all in-scope new-build projects from 1 October 2023.