As a direct result of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt, a qualified engineer with a strong regulatory background, was commissioned by the government to assess the effectiveness of current building and fire safety regulations and related compliance and enforcement issues, with a focus on multi-occupancy and high-rise residential buildings.
The review of the Building Regulations and fire safety, which made 53 recommendations for improvement, concluded that the whole system needed major reform and the Government subsequently launched a consultation on reforms to the Regulations. The consultation and the Government’s response has culminated with the introduction and reform of new legislation most notably the Fire Safety Act and the Building Safety Act, which achieved Royal Assent in April 2022.
These changes bring the biggest shake up of building safety regulation since the Building Act 1984.
The changes are wide ranging and impose greater obligations on designers, contractors and building control bodies (including approved inspectors, who will become ‘registered building control approvers’). They also pose further insurance issues in an already hardened market.
The Secondary Legislation, which came in to force on 1 October 2023, provides important clarification as to how the new roles of the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor will operate under the Building Safety Act and what certificates and declarations need to be provided and when in relation to high-risk buildings.
All those in the construction industry need to be aware of the legislative and regulator requirements. We have therefore collated a selection of legal updates, articles and webinars which report on developments and the impact on those in the construction, health and safety and building related industries in line with the Government’s aim to “build a safer future”.
Our team are able to deliver tailored training sessions on this topic – click here – The Building Safety Act 2022 – The New Regime – for an outline programme. Our Contracts and Projects Advisory team can also assist in a variety of ways in relation to the act – click here – Building Safety Compliance).
Please get in touch with one of our key contacts for further information.
