The Building Safety Act (‘the Act’) was introduced by the government on 28 June 2022 as a response to the tragedies of Grenfell Tower which took place in 2017. The Act seeks to improve the safety of high-rise buildings and ensure that residents are protected from the risks of fire and other hazards.
The aim of the Act is to create accountability of developers for the safety of buildings they construct which are 18 metres, or seven storeys high and contain at least two residential units. It also has significant implications for the designers, contractors and maintenance teams of buildings who can also be held accountable.
One of the key provisions of the Act is the introduction of a new Building Safety Certificate. This certificate will be required for all new high-rise buildings, and will need to be renewed every five years. The certificate will confirm that the building has been designed and constructed to meet the new safety standards, and will also include details of any remedial works that need to be carried out.
The key points of the act are as follows:
- High rise buildings now require an ‘accountable person’ to assess the building safety risk and register with the Building Safety Regulator;
- any claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 are extended from 6 years to 15 years;
- remediation of building safety risks - this extends the limitation period for developers of historical developments from 15 years to 30 years.
The Act will introduce new duties for the management of fire and building safety in high-rise residential buildings from 1st April 2023.
At the time of writing approximately 49 developers have signed the Self Remediation Terms and Deed of Bilateral contract (‘the contract”). This is a pledge to the government by developers to remediate any critical fire safety works and the government has given a deadline of 13 March 2023 for other developers to join. Failure to sign the contract or to comply with its terms could result in potentially significant consequences for developers. The Secretary of State has the power to block these developers from carrying out future developments and receiving building control. The government also has the ability to make public which developers have not signed the contract.
If you would like any further information on these changes and how this may affect your business, please contact Danielle Cohen at CBG Law: M: 07776 502 502 E: dtc@cbglaw.co.uk W: www.cbglaw.co.uk