28 Mar 2024

Blog: 28th March 2024 - Bevan Brittan, Corporate Partner

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Building Safety – Key changes in 2024

1 October 2023 was a key milestone for the Building Safety Act (BSA). By this date, all existing occupied higher risk buildings (HRBs) had to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Also from this date, the BSR became the building control body for HRBs (which for construction purposes, can include hospitals and care homes) unless transitional provisions applied. There is however, more to come in 2024!

From 16 January 2024, The Building Safety Act 2022 (Commencement No. 6) Regulations 2024 bring into force a number of key sections of Part 4 (the occupation stage) of the BSA. It also has significant consequences for the Principal Accountable Person and/or Accountable Person in regards to HRBs in England. Many of these were expected, but others may well have fallen under the radar. They include:

Detail of what a Safety Case Report must contain (see The Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc) (England) Regulations 2023)
Detail of what information the Golden Thread must contain (see The Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2023)
The ability of:

Mandatory reporting requirements on Accountable Persons
Requirements of the resident engagement
Requirements for complaints procedures
Accountable Persons to issue contravention notices to residents and make a Court application if access is refused, and
The Regulator to apply for an order appointing a Special Measures Manager to replace an Accountable Person, where duties are not being complied with.

Section 101 of the BSA is also brought into force by Commencement No. 6, creating a criminal offence where an Accountable Person (or Principal Accountable Person) contravenes the provisions of Part 4 of the BSA and this places anyone at a significant risk of death and/or serious injury. This makes it critical for the new duties to be understood.

Further changes will also come into effect from April 2024:

The transitional arrangements, where higher risk building work can continue to be approved by local authorities or Approved Inspectors, and where applications were made before 1 October 2023, will cease to apply if work has not been “sufficiently progressed” by 6 April 2024.
The building control profession will become a registered profession to improve accountability and competence. From 6 April 2024, anyone carrying out building control activities must be registered as a building inspector, and businesses providing such services must be registered as building control approvers.
The Building Safety Regulator will begin the process of inviting the Principal Accountable Person to request a Building Assessment Certificate for all registered HRBs.
We can also expect the BSR to start using its enforcement powers against both duty holders and the building control profession, where it suspects non-compliance in line with its Enforcement Policy published in December 2023.