Navigating New Building Safety ACT 2023
The new regulatory regime for the landmark Building Safety Act (BSA) came into force on the 1st of October 2023 and will apply to all projects subject to Building Regulations. These are the biggest changes in a generation to the way building safety is monitored and to the responsibilities incumbent upon everyone involved in the construction process – including clients, designers, and contractors. This affects all building work – not just high-rise/higher risk buildings.
The key changes include the introduction of the Client (including domestic clients), Principal Designer, Designers, and Principal Contractor roles under the Building Safety Act (these roles are not the same as under CDM regulations) and place new duties on those who procure, plan, design, manage, and undertake building work. All of the duty holders are required to ensure they have competence (the necessary skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviour) to carry out the design and building work they are engaged to do. They are also required to only undertake work within the limits of their competence. The client, meanwhile, must take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that the dutyholders are competent, and the dutyholders must refuse to accept an appointment for works they are not competent to deliver. Competence is the key word from now on, and the MDLR team is well-positioned to both meet all of the new requirements and guide our clients and collaborators through these legislative changes for all #living sector projects we specialize in.
Other changes mean that from 1st October, the onus will be on the designers to take all reasonable steps to ensure design work is compliant with building regulations and to be able to demonstrate and justify this. They should not be using building control as a sounding board for approval or expect their help to meet the requirements (although some will provide additional service via a sister company to do so). Further key changes include Approved Inspector’s new name – Register Building Control Approvers that will take place from 1st of April 2024, where each of the individuals on the register will have to pass a competency test.
There is a transition period meaning that projects that were registered for building regulations approval prior to 1st of October 2023 and started on site prior to 6th of April 2024 (new definition of start on site applies – contact us for more details) will be dealt with under the old regime.
MDLR Architects are part of the first batch of Architects that will be on the RIBA’s approved Principal Designer register (Accredited for both CDM and BSA), and we will be able to provide our clients with full Principal Designer compliance and advice. There will be a guide coming out soon that will provide further information, but please send us your queries and comments in the meantime.