DAC Beachcroft hosting panel discussion on Building Safety Act consultation

The Building Safety Act 2022 (“BSA”) has been described as a “generational” piece of legislation that will fundamentally reform the way in which the built environment sector operates in England. Although it was granted royal assent on 28 April 2022, most of the regime under the BSA does not yet have full effect. In particular, the reforms to the Building Act 1984 affecting the design and construction of buildings (especially, “higher-risk buildings”) contained within Part 3 of the BSA depend on secondary legislation being passed. On 20 July, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced the launch of a consultation that will give industry stakeholders the opportunity to feedback on the proposed changes.

The consultation is inviting comments on the following areas:

• New duty holder and competence requirements on all building work and additional duties for those working on higher-risk buildings.
• New hard stops to strengthen building control for higher-risk buildings before a building is occupied.
• The approach to the Building Safety Regulator’s notices to support building projects which comprise both higher-risk building work and non higher-risk building work.
• Additional requirements for building work carried out in existing higher-risk building work e.g. refurbishments.
• Stronger change control during the construction of higher-risk buildings.
• The process of certifying building works that have been carried out without building regulations approval (regularisation).
• Establishing greater record keeping and management in higher-risk buildings (golden thread).
• A mandatory occurrence reporting system in higher-risk buildings.
• Stronger enforcement and sanctions for all building work.
• Wider changes to the building regulations to align the existing system with the new system.
• Commencement of building work and transitional provisions for changing to the new higher-risk building regime.

From our discussions with developers, contractors and designers, it is clear that many businesses that will be directly affected by the BSA have strong opinions on the proposed changes and look forward to receiving further practical guidance from the government. This consultation, therefore, represents an ideal occasion for the industry to make its views clear and to raise questions where clarification of the proposals is needed.

The consultation closes on 12 October 2022. At DAC Beachcroft, we will be hosting a 1 hour virtual panel discussion on 21 September in which our experts will highlight some of the key parts of the consultation and why it is important for you to have your say. Attendees will be invited to submit their views on the proposals to us, which we will collate on an anonymous basis as part of our formal response to the consultation. In this way, attendees will have an opportunity to help shape the future of building safety.

Click here to book your place on our upcoming panel discussion.

Speakers

Rob Biddlecombe

Legal Director

Chris Baranowski

Partner