Building Safety Regulator

Latest

• Sixth Commencement Regulations of the BSA laid (Part 4)

  Tuesday, 16 January 2024

  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.

  Read the regulations here

   

  • Building Safety Act

• High-Rise Building Registration & KBI: Change Portal open

  Monday, 15 January 2024

  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

• New Regulator targets 40% of HRB's assessed by April 2026, in Strategic Plan

  Wednesday, 29 November 2023
  • 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

• Golden Thread Regulations Laid

  Tuesday, 17 October 2023

  On Tuesday 17th October, the Government laid the Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc) (England) Regulations 2023 in Parliament.

  The Regulations set out what information will constitute the golden thread to be kept for occupied buildings and who the information should be shared with.

  A copy of the regulations can be found here.

  The regulations set out the golden thread information that the people responsible for an occupied higher-risk building (the accountable persons) need to keep, and what information they need to provide to others (including residents) of the building. The regulations also set out the limited exemptions to sharing the information on the basis of security, commercial confidentiality and data protection sensitivities. 

  These Regulations also make small amendments to the Higher-Risk Buildings (Key Building Information etc.) Regulations 2023 and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023. This is to clarify what part of the building an accountable person is responsible for when there are multiple accountable persons for the same higher-risk building, and to remove the exclusion of certain types of military premises.   

  The golden thread of information will contain the evidence and information needed to identify and manage building safety risks. The golden thread information will enable accountable persons to demonstrate they understand the building and the steps required to keep it safe.  Without information about a building, including risk assessments and details of safety features and arrangements, accountable persons cannot be confident they are meeting their obligations under the Building Safety Act, or demonstrate this to others. This is the final set of regulations currently planned for the higher-risk building regime.

  • Building Safety Regulator
  • Golden Thread & Safety Management Systems

• The Building Safety Regulator is now the Building Control Authority for higher-risk buildings in England

  Wednesday, 4 October 2023

  On the 1 October, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became the Building Control Authority for all higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England.

  
  This means that developers will no longer be able to choose the building control body they use for building new residential buildings that are over 18-metres or 7 storeys with at least 2 residential units, and hospitals and care homes that meet the same height threshold.

  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.

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