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On 13th January 2024, new Regulations (the sixth commencement regulations made under the Building Safety Act 2022) have now brought into force various sections in Part 4 of the Act, as of 16th January 2024.
Sections now enacted include:
- Sections 79 to 82 which impose requirements with regard to registration of occupied higher-risk buildings and obtaining and displaying a building assessment certificate for such a building;
- Sections 83 to 86 which impose duties with regard to assessing and managing building safety risks, the safety case report and its provision to the regulator;
- Sections 87, 88 and 90 which impose and are in relation to duties to report certain safety information, keeping prescribed information and documents for higher-risk buildings and for sharing that information and documents with various interested parties;
- Sections 91 to 94 which impose requirements in relation to a resident engagement strategy for a higher-risk building, requests by residents for further information or documents about their building, and the complaints procedures to be operated by the principal accountable person and the building safety regulator;
- Sections 95 to 97 which impose duties on residents and provide for contravention notices when those duties are breached and for access to residential units;
- Sections 98 to 101 which impose requirements in relation to enforcement by the regulator;
- Section 102 (and the accompanying Schedule 7) which creates the special measures regime, an enforcement tool of last resort; and;
- Section 111 which makes provisions in relation to articles of associations of resident management companies.
- Building Safety Act
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The HSE has confirmed that PAPs can now self-serve changes to already submitted applications in the registration portal.
If you’ve already submitted an application to register a high-rise residential building (HRB) and need to amend the registration or key buildings information you have provided, you can now do this directly in the registration portal.
If your application has been submitted you have 14 days to inform BSR of changes to your registration information and 28 days for any changes to your key building information.
The guidance on applying to register a HRB has also been updated.
You can find other useful information on the registration process and using the service portal on our Building Safety campaign website.
- Building Safety Regulator
- Registration & KBI
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Government has published two updates to the Cladding Safety scheme (formerly the Medium Rise scheme). The updates:
Add information which states that FRAEWs must be provided by a Fire Risk Assessor from the Homes England accredited panel.
Amend the overview under Eligibility: building height, and social sector applicants: financial viability applications.
Make amendments to the paragraphs on Applying for funding for the Cladding Safety Scheme under Submission and funding decision on your full works application.
For updated details on applying to this scheme click here.- Building Remediation
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The Responsible Actors Scheme, as detailed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, will limit developers sanctioned under this scheme to building sites of fewer than 10 homes, barring them from major developments in England, it has been announced.
The scheme recognizes and acknowledges efforts made by responsible developers to rectify life-critical fire safety issues in residential blocks they developed or refurbished over the past 30 years, with those joining the scheme committing to remediating numerous buildings, with non-compliant developers facing planning and building control sanctions such as the one to ban developments over 10 homes. The guidelines outline requirements for prohibited developers, necessitating them to notify authorities about their status and limiting their ability to obtain planning permission and building control approval for major developments. Exceptions apply for certain situations, such as emergency repairs and critical infrastructure projects.
For the DLUHC Responsible Actors Scheme guide, please click here.
- Building Remediation
- Responsible Actors Scheme
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- The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has published its first three-year strategic plan, comitting to assess about 40% of occupied higher risk buildings (65% of residential dwellings) by April 2026.
- The strategy is a significant step forward, underlining BSR’s overarching direction and vision to galvanise positive culture change
- Collaboration is key to driving up safety and standards
BSR is leading a critical change in culture and behaviours across industry and the whole built environment. The strategic plan establishes a vision to create a built environment where everyone is competent and takes responsibility to ensure buildings are of high quality and are safe. This represents the most significant change to regulation of building safety for a generation and means residents and other building users can be confident that industry is working together to make sure the tragedies of the past will never be repeated.
The plan details that in the first year of assessing occupied higher-risk buildings, it aims to have assessed about 20% of buildings which represent 37% of residential dwellings - prioritising assessments, for example, any buildings with un-remediated ACM cladding will be assessed in the first year. By April 2026, the BSR aims to have assessed about 40% of occupied higher risk buildings, which represents 65% of residential dwellings.
The Building Safety Regulator will:
- improve the safety and standards of all buildings
- make sure residents of higher-risk buildings are safe and feel safe in their homes
- help restore trust in the built environment sector
It will do this by:
- delivering consistent standards within the building control profession
- overseeing and driving improvements across the whole built environment
- regulating the planning, design, and construction of new higher-risk buildings
- ensuring those who are responsible for occupied higher-risk buildings manage risk so that residents are safe
- working in partnership with co-regulators
Commenting in the foreword to the strategic plan, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, said:
“The system that regulates our buildings must be practical and comprehensible. The Regulator must lead the sector in creating a built environment fit for the future.
“This first three-year strategic plan is a significant moment in this mission. It looks forward and lays out a solid foundation on which the Regulator can build its ambition in future years.
Philip White, HSE’s Director of Building Safety, said:
“This strategic plan sets out the guiding principles we have put in place to keep us focused on our priorities in delivering the new regime, and we will keep it under continuous review. We will ensure we have the right capability and capacity to meet this challenge as our remit continues to evolve, working with others sharing knowledge, expertise, and data.
“Our focus is clear and resolute as we oversee a culture of higher standards, putting building safety first. Our regulatory activities will be conducted in a way which is transparent, accountable, proportionate, and consistent.
“Throughout the next three years, BSR will continue to work across all sectors to ensure that those working in the building sector engage fully with the new regime. Our aim is that people will see fundamental changes to the safety and standard of all buildings and increased competency among industry professionals that raises those standards year on year.”
Chair of the Health and Safety Executive, Sarah Newton, said:
“This is a strong, coherent strategy built on collaboration with all BSR’s stakeholders, with a keen focus on ensuring industry takes ownership and responsibility for delivering a safe system throughout the life cycle of a building. This must be front of mind for everyone. And everyone must be aware of their legal responsibilities. Collaboration and collective responsibility are key for delivering better standards.”
The BSR’s Strategic Plan for 2023-2026 is available to view here.
- Building Safety Regulator