What is the Building Safety Act 2022?

The Building Safety Act aims to make people safer and feel safer in high rise residential buildings. The Act is a response to the tragedy at Grenfell Tower in 2017; the tragedy was a direct result of serious failings in the building and how it was managed and maintained. The Act aims to ensure that there is accountability throughout the housing and construction sectors, to ensure that those responsible for the safety of high-risk buildings and their occupants are doing what they need to, and that those responsible for any mistakes or failures are held accountable and made to put them right.

When will the Building Safety Act become law?

The Building Safety Act has been approved by parliament and has received Royal Assent in April 2022, so is now law. However the various requirements will come into effect over the next 12-18 months. It is anticipated that the main duties and obligations for occupied buildings will take effect during 2023.

Who is the Building Safety Regulator?

The Building Safety Regulator is the body who will enforce the requirements set out in the Building Safety Act and will take action against those who breach them. The Regulator will implement and oversee the new stringent rules for high rise properties, including how they are designed, constructed, and occupied, as well as driving up standards for all buildings. The introduction of the Building Safety Regulator brings a more proactive approach to the oversight of building safety.

What is a Building Safety Manager?

The Building Safety Act has introduced a new dutyholder role, that of Accountable Person, for higher risk residential buildings in order to ensure building safety risks in occupied properties are properly managed. The government had originally proposed that a prescribed role of Building Safety Manager would be created to assist the Accountable Person meet their obligations. However the government have recently decided not to mandate this role, and it is now for the Accountable Person (which is the landlord or freeholder who is in charge of repairing the building) to determine how they will fulfil their duties. Accountable Persons will have to set the ‘most appropriate arrangements’ for their buildings and residents, and will still need to ensure that those who are involved in the management of building safety risks are sufficiently competent, knowledgeable, and experienced to carry out effective day-to-day identification and management of those risks. Many organisations who will have Accountable Person duties are still continuing to employ Building Safety Managers, although others are taking different approaches to their staffing structures and establishing alternative roles to fulfil their duties.