Overview of the Act
- The Building Safety Act takes forward the Government’s commitment to fundamental reform of the building safety system. The Act gives effect to policies set out in the Building a Safer Future consultation response, published in April 2020. This detailed how the Government intends to deliver the principles and recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, published in May 2018.
- The Act also acts as the vehicle for wider improvements including changes to the Architects Act 1997, the Housing Act 1996, and provisions to establish a National Regulator for Construction Products and a New Homes Ombudsman. And it takes forward further changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order or FSO), building on the Fire Safety Act 2021.
- The objectives of the Act are to learn the lessons from the Grenfell Tower fire and to remedy the systemic issues identified by Dame Judith Hackitt by strengthening the whole regulatory system for building safety.
- This will be achieved by ensuring there is greater accountability and responsibility for fire and structural safety issues throughout the lifecycle of buildings in scope of the new regulatory regime for building safety. This involves:
- establishing a new Building Safety Regulator in England to oversee a new, more stringent regime for higher-risk buildings and drive improvements in building safety and performance standards in all buildings;
- ensuring residents have a stronger voice in the system, and establishing additional protections for leaseholders in relation to financing remediation works;
- increasing access to redress through the Defective Premises Act 1972;
- driving industry culture change and incentivising compliance;
- strengthening the Fire Safety Order; and
- providing a stronger and clearer framework for national oversight of construction products.
- Part 1 provides an overview of the Act. The Act contains six parts and eleven Schedules addressing a range of issues relating to building safety and standards. The Act makes a number of changes to existing legislation, most notably the Building Act 1984.
- Part 2 establishes a new Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive.
- Part 3 deals with amendments to the Building Act 1984 as it applies to England and Wales, and defines the scope and provisions for the regime during the design and construction phase for higher-risk buildings. It also provides for the registration of building inspectors and building control approvers to better regulate and improve competence levels in the building control sector.
- Part 4 is concerned with higher-risk residential buildings in England when they are occupied, and defines the scope of the regime for higher-risk buildings in occupation. It defines and places duties on the Accountable Person (the dutyholder in occupation) in relation to building safety risks in their building.
- Part 5 details other provisions, including provisions relating to service charges, remediation and redress, and changes to the Fire Safety Order. It includes provisions to require a New Homes Ombudsman scheme to be established, and powers to make provision for regulation of construction products for the UK. It allows disciplinary orders made against architects by the Professional Conduct Committee of the Architects Registration Board to be listed alongside an architect’s entry in the Register of Architects. It also removes the "democratic filter" which requires social housing residents wishing to escalate a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman to do this via a "designated person" or wait eight weeks.
- Part 6 contains the technical sections related to the Act, including Crown application and provision for liability of officers.
