The latest on the Building Safety Act 2022

The draft Building Safety Bill was first published in July 2020 in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. It has since passed through numerous readings in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, with the governments Bill receiving Royal Assent on the 28th April 2022. The Bill has been described as the biggest change to building safety legislation for decades and is intended to “create lasting generational change” to the way high risk and residential buildings are constructed, maintained and regulated.

The Building Safety Act 2022 sees the Building Safety Regulator providing oversight of the system with powers of enforcement and sanctions. Whilst the Act has now become law, there is to be a transitionary period of up to 18 months from the date of Royal Assent to allow many of the provisions to come into force. The government has published an outline indicative timeline for commencing the key provisions.

Following conclusion of the first phase – the passage of the Bill through the parliamentary stages in both Houses and the Bill receiving Royal Assent, the limitation of the Defective Premises Act is set to be extended.

The second phase is the introduction of the new regulatory regime and Secondary Legislation, with the transitionary period anticipated to be between 6 and 12 months.

The third and final phase is the transition and enforcement of the main regime coming into force, with the transitionary period anticipated to be between 12 and 18 months.

This transition period will be crucial in allowing the industry and professionals to prepare for the new roles and competencies.

Here at Curtins we have been maintaining and updating our skills, knowledge and expertise and have demonstratable project experience working on high risk and residential buildings.

We are currently advising clients and project teams, including architects, design practices and contractors, on the implications of the Act – allowing for a smooth transition as the provisions come into force.

If you’d like to speak to someone about our CDM and Health & Safety Consultancy Services, please contact me on tim.allen@curtins.com and I would be happy to help.