Building safety reforms
The Building Safety Act names Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR). It also introduces new duties relating to fire and structural safety. The new duties, and BSR's services, will become operational over the next few years.The pages on HSE's website explain what they are doing to set up BSR, and what you can do to prepare for your new duties.
Building Control: An overview of the new regime
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has developed guidance to help navigate the new secondary legislation due to commence on 1 October 2023, and support the new building control approval process for higher-risk buildings.
Eligibilty for transitional arrangements in building control
The transitional arrangements allow projects to stay under the current building control regime – and avoid transfer to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Doing this ensures that eligible projects stay under the old rules. BSR is encouraging developers with qualifying projects to take the required actions now to ensure they benefit from the transitional arrangements.
Register as a building inspector
Building control inspectors appointed to undertake any type of building control work in England will need to register with BSR ahead of the profession becoming regulated in April 2024. To complete the registration process, inspectors will be required to demonstrate competence in their work and compliance with the Building Safety Act 2022, as well as existing building regulations.
Register your business as a building control approver
All private sector businesses that want to do building control work under the Building Act 1984 (as amended) must apply to register with BSR as a building control approver (RBCA).
Register a higher-risk residential building
If you’re the principal accountable person for a building, or the principal accountable person has authorised you to act for them, you can use this service to apply to register the building.
Following the 1 October deadline for registering all high-rise residential buildings in England, BSR is working to ensure all incomplete, duplicate or erroneous applications are either completed or removed.
Those who had started applications but not submitted them are being contacted directly and offered assistance to help solve any issues they may still be having.
It is now a criminal offence to have not completed the registration process for all existing in-scope buildings in England.
The register will be published in the coming months.
Key Building Information (KBI)
As part of the process to register higher-risk residential buildings in England, there is a requirement to supply KBI to the Building Safety Regulator.
KBI is a set of information needed about each high-rise building in order to assess and properly manage the risks of fire spread or structural failure. It can be submitted at the same time as completing the application to register a building or at a later date.
Manage a building control application for a higher-risk building
Use this service to apply for and manage building control applications for higher-risk buildings in England.
Managing building control approval applications for higher-risk buildings
This guidance will help clients, or someone they authorise, to submit and manage a building control application to the Building Safety Regulator – for higher-risk building work or building work to an existing higher-risk building.