The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced in April 2022, is a significant piece of legislation aimed at enhancing building safety. This Act makes ground-breaking reforms to give residents and homeowners more rights, powers, and protections – so homes across the country are safer.
It delivers protections for qualifying leaseholders from the costs associated with remediating historical building safety defects, and an ambitious toolkit of measures that will allow those responsible for building safety defects to be held to account.
Background
The legislation was introduced in response to the tragic Grenfell Tower Disaster in 2017, which resulted in 72 lives being taken. It was found that the building incorporated highly combustible polyethylene polymer filler which melts, drips, and flows at elevated temperature. Moreover, firefighters had established at the scene that the buildings smoke extraction systems were not working and there was no ‘wet riser’ to diffuse flames during the event.
Dame Judith Hackitt’s 2018 review of the Fire Safety and Building regulations recommended reforms to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Scope and Applicability
The Act applies to both newly constructed and existing occupied buildings.
Specifically, it covers buildings that are:
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- Over 11 meters high or have five or more storeys.
- Contain at least two residential units.
- Includes care homes and hospitals meeting the same height threshold.
Key Provisions:
Duty holder Responsibilities (Effective from 1st October 2023):
- Duty holders (such as building owners) now have responsibilities to plan, manage, and monitor their activities related to building regulations.
Building Safety Regulator:
- The Building Safety Regulator becomes the building control authority for all high-rise buildings.
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting System:
- Required for each higher-risk building to capture risks related to fire and structural safety.
Changes to Fire Safety Regulations:
- Strengthened cooperation and coordination between Responsible Persons under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
For further information on this topic or on any other legal area, please contact John Szepietowski or Kay Stewart at Audley Chaucer Solicitors on 01372 303444 or email admin@audleychaucer.com or visit our Linkedin page.
Gaina Kapoor
This information was correct as of April 2024
