Understanding Building Safety Act Secondary Legislation
The Building Safety Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments etc) Regulations 2023, amends the Building Control terminology in preparation for a new regime for higher risk buildings, which came into force from 1 October 2023.
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Dr Melanie Robinson
Associate
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October 18, 2023
In August the UK Government released details of further secondary legislation relating to the Building Safety Act – critical legislation that continues the work implementing the recommendations arising from the Hackitt Report: Building a Safer Future.
The Building Safety Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments etc) Regulations 2023, amends the Building Control terminology in preparation for a new regime for higher risk buildings, which came into force from 1 October 2023.
The primary focus of the amends are to the new role played by building control, replacing references to the depositing of plans when making an application for building control approval.
The legislation notes that these transitional provisions “do not affect building work for which a notice is given or plans are deposited under section 16 of the Building Act 1984 before 1st October 2023.”
The amends also reflect that the Building Safety Act 2022 transfers procedures for appeals under the Building Act 1984 from the magistrates’ court to the to the First-tier Tribunal.
In addition, the legislation put forward refers to the Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc) (England) Regulations 2023. These make largely administrative provisions in relation to the management of safety risks in higher risk buildings and are applicable in England only.
These provisions relate to the duties of to the Building Safety Regulator, the Accountable Person(s) and residents of these buildings.
We discussed these legislative changes at our virtual event on 11 October. Dr Melanie Robinson, Associate at Okana, was joined by a panel of building safety and information management experts, to explain the obligations for building owners, as well as what is required of other actors within the supply chain from manufacturers and designers, engineers and contractors, to facilities managers under this new secondary legislation.
Melanie said: “Failure to comply with the regulatory requirements of the Building Safety Act in England can result in serious penalties. Now that we have sight of the secondary legislation and the changes to Building Regulations, we need to focus on the actions building owners and operators need to take right now and more importantly why these are now a legal requirement.”
