Building Safety Act - Secondary legislation published
Building Safety Act
Secondary Legislation Published
The following Regulations under the Building Safety Act 2022 were published online at the end of last week:
- The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023
- The Building Regulations (Higher-Risk Building Procedures) (England) 2023
- The Building (Approved Inspectors etc. And Review of Decisions) (England) Regulations 2023
- The Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc) (England) Regulations 2023
- The Building Safety Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments etc.) Regulations 2023
The regulations deliver the recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt in her report Building a Safer Future and cover the technical detail underpinning the new, more stringent regime for the design and construction of higher-risk buildings, wider changes to the building regulations for all buildings and the details of the new in-occupation safety regime for higher-risk buildings.
Please note that the regulations apply primarily to England, with a significant amount applying to Wales, and very little applying to Scotland or Northern Island. APS will provide more detail on what applies in the devolved administrations in our next Building Safety Act Session (13.09.23).
Although the association is still working through the new regulations, there appear to be few changes in the new regulations from what was proposed in the Government's consultation.
Members will be particularly interested in the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 which come into force on 1st October 2023 and will significantly modify the Building Regulations 2010 and introduce new dutyholder and competence requirements including the new roles of Principal Designer and Principal Contractor under the Building Regulations.
Those who undertake design or building work on higher-risk buildings will be interested in the Building Regulations (Higher-Risk Building Procedures) (England) 2023 which also come into force on 1 October 2023 and introduce the new building control gateways on such projects. A change of note with these regulations is that the proposed design and build approach document has become the building regulations compliance statement.
Full details of the documents required during the design and construction of HRBs can be found in Schedule 1 of the Regulations.
Alongside the regulations, the government have published their responses to the consultations held last summer:
- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-new-safety-regime-for-occupied-higher-risk-buildings
- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-implementing-the-new-building-control-regime-for-higher-risk-buildings-and-wider-changes-to-the-building-regulations-for-all-buildings
- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-building-control-profession-and-the-building-control-process-for-approved-inspectors
These new Regulations will fundamentally reform the way buildings are designed, built and managed to ensure safety of those who live in them. They also introduce significant reform to building control for all buildings and a new bespoke approach to building control for blocks of flats, hospitals and care homes of 18m or more or seven stories or more [higher-risk buildings] under the new Building Safety Regulator. The next sets of regulations related to the new regime will be laid shortly, probably on or soon after the 3 September 2023, when parliament return from the summer recess.
The Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc) (England) Regulations and the Charges Regulations are due to be laid at that point. The former regulations will cover the information that accountable persons for occupied higher-risk buildings need to keep as golden thread information and what information they need to share with residents and other people who are involved in ensuring the safety of the building. The latter will set out the approach to charging by the Building Safety Regulator.
These affirmative regulations need parliamentary approval. The intention is that these Regulations will become law before the 20 September 2023 when parliament rises for the conference recess.