Building Safety Manager role is scrapped by Government

The Government has scrapped a proposed duty for all high-rise residential blocks to have a building safety manager following concerns that the move would be potentially too costly for leaseholders.

As part of the Building Safety Bill, the Government had proposed the appointment of dedicated building safety managers by landlords managing residential blocks – a key recommendation in Dame Judith Hackitt's review of construction industry failings following the Grenfell Tower Fire.

Instead, it has proposed that the regime should enable block managers or landlords to set the 'most appropriate arrangements' for their buildings and residents, relieving leaseholders from 'unnecessary' costs.

The Government has also scrapped the requirement for a separate building safety charge, which would have been used to cover the costs of appointing a building safety manager.

Further changes have been made to protect leaseholders, including:

• exempting all leaseholders in buildings over 11m from cladding costs,
• qualifying leaseholders with properties valued at less than £175,000, rising to £325,000 in Greater London, will be protected entirely from all remediation costs, including those related to non-cladding defects