HSE new residential high-rise building regulations following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Stronger regulation of residential buildings has followed the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced the Building Safety Regulator which is part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). High rise residential buildings that are 18 metres in height or over (or at least seven storeys) which contain two or more residential units are categorised as ‘higher risk.’ It is estimated that there are around 12,500 such buildings in England and from next month, as per the terminology used in the 2022 Act the ‘principal accountable person’ (PAP) needs to register the building they are the PAP for with the Building Safety Regulator.
There is a period of six months from the introduction of the requirement to register. After the end of this window of time as Chief Inspector of Buildings Peter Baker commented on 27.2.23 ‘ "Those who are responsible for high-rise residential buildings must register; failure to do so will be against the law.’ PAPs will need to provide supporting information with their application albeit the details of what exactly will be required are not yet available. Separately it is understood that PAPs will face the additional duty of providing Key Building Information (‘KBI’) to the Building Safety Regulator within 28 days of their application to register the building. 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Barristers Chambers can offer prompt advise to those impacted on how to meet the obligations introduced by the developing regulatory requirements in relation to building safety.
For more information please contact Deputy Senior Clerk Stephen Somerville: [email protected]
