In a recent statement by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), they doubled down on their commitment to improving safety standards and performance within the built environment.
Last year the BSR, successfully established the groundwork for an effective building safety system. This year, they seek to provide more assistance to stakeholders to ensure there is a better understanding of the new building safety framework and the actions they must take to ensure legal compliance requirements are met.
April is poised to be a pivotal month for the building control sector, as the mandatory registration requirements for building control inspectors and approvers come into effect. This will see enforcement applied to operational standards rules. Implementing fresh requirements and standards across providers in both the public and private sectors will guarantee uniform adherence to elevated standards throughout the entire profession.
What Changes are the BSR implementing?
Last year, in October 2023, the BSR made it mandatory for high-risk residential buildings to be registered. Following this;
- Principle Accountable Persons (PAPs) must apply for a building assessment certificate when prompted by the BSR. This illustrates their approach to handling safety risks related to fire spread and structural failure in construction.
- Additionally, they are required to present their Residents’ Engagement Strategy and establish a reporting system for Mandatory Occurrences (MORs) to BSR.
What Lies Ahead for the BSR?
The BSR has also published its strategic plan, which outlines how building safety functions will be actioned from April 2023 to March 2026. This plan outlines the tasks assigned to the BSR, detailing their approach, methods, and objectives. It encompasses a yearly roadmap of planned activities. We have summarised the upcoming plan for 2024 below:
Early 2024
- All responsibilities pertaining to Accountable Persons and Principal Accountable Persons in higher-risk buildings take effect.
- The residents’ complaints system becomes operational.
- Initiating measures for unresolved issues in higher-risk buildings.
- The Building Safety Regulator will establish the national register of higher-risk buildings, introducing a searchable portal of such buildings in England for the first time.
Spring 2024
- The initiation of assessments for compliance with new building safety duties for occupied higher-risk buildings by the Building Safety Regulator commences. Upon satisfaction of compliance, the regulator will issue a ‘building assessment certificate.’
- In the inaugural year of evaluating occupied higher-risk buildings, the goal is to assess approximately 20% of structures, representing 37% of residential dwellings. Prioritization will be given to assessments, with a focus on buildings featuring un-remediated ACM cladding during the initial year.
- Mandatory registration for building inspectors and building control approvers is implemented, limiting registered inspectors to perform building control restricted functions and activities.
- The Building Safety Regulator takes on the responsibility of investigating allegations of non-compliance with rules, regulations, and codes within the building control profession.
- The commencement of planned inspections for Building Control Bodies begins, with prioritization based on intelligence and risk. In the first year, 20% of all Local Authorities and RBCA’s will undergo inspection and appropriate action. Information collected from these bodies will be used to gauge compliance with the OSRs, and inspection results will be assessed.
