Building Safety Act 2022
| Year | 2022 |
Building Safety Act 2022
2022 Chapter 30
An Act to make provision about the safety of people in or about buildings and the standard of buildings, to amend the Architects Act 1997, and to amend provision about complaints made to a housing ombudsman.
[28 April 2022]
e it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part 1
Introduction
1 Overview of Act
(1) This Act has 6 Parts, and contains provisions intended to secure the safety of people in or about buildings and to improve the standard of buildings.
(2) Part 2 contains provision about the building safety regulator and its functions in relation to buildings in England.
(3) Part 3 amends the Building Act 1984.
(4) Amendments made by Part 3—
(a)
(a) provide that the regulator is the building control authority in relation to higher-risk buildings in England, and
(b)
(b) require the regulator (for England) and the Welsh Ministers (for Wales) to establish and maintain registers of building control approvers and building inspectors.
(5) Part 4 is about occupied higher-risk buildings in England, and imposes duties on accountable persons.
(6) Part 5 contains further provisions, including—
(a)
(a) provisions about remediation and redress;
(b)
(b) provision requiring a new homes ombudsman scheme to be established;
(c)
(c) powers to make provision about construction products;
(d)
(d) further provision about fire safety;
(e)
(e) provision about the regulation of architects;
(f)
(f) provision about housing complaints.
(7) Part 6 contains general provisions.
Part 2
The regulator and its functions
The regulator and its general functions
2 The building safety regulator
(1) In this Part “” means the Health and Safety Executive.
(2) Schedule 1 contains amendments of provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 that relate to the regulator.
3 The regulator: objectives and regulatory principles
(1) The regulator must exercise its building functions with a view to—
(a)
(a) securing the safety of people in or about buildings in relation to risks arising from buildings, and
(b)
(b) improving the standard of buildings.
(2) In exercising a building function (other than an excepted function), the regulator must have regard to the following principles—
(a)
(a) regulatory activities should be carried out in a way which is transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent, and
(b)
(b) regulatory activities should be targeted only at cases in which action is needed.
(3) The duty in subsection (2) is subject to any other requirement affecting the exercise of the function.
(4) In subsection (2) “” means—
(a)
(a) a function under any of sections 4 to 6, or
(b)
(b) a function of the regulator under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 so far as relating to any such function.
(5) In this Part “” means—
(a)
(a) any function of the regulator under, or under an instrument made under, this Act or the Building Act 1984;
(b)
(b) any prescribed function of the regulator;
(c)
(c) any function of the regulator under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 so far as relating to a function within paragraph (a) or (b).
4 Duty to facilitate building safety: higher-risk buildings
(1) The regulator must provide such assistance and encouragement to relevant persons as it considers appropriate with a view to facilitating their securing the safety of people in or about higher-risk buildings in relation to building safety risks as regards those buildings.
(2) The assistance and encouragement that must be provided under subsection (1) includes, in particular, assistance and encouragement with a view to facilitating securing the safety of disabled people in or about higher-risk buildings in relation to building safety risks as regards those buildings.
(3) For this purpose “” means—
(a)
(a) residents of higher-risk buildings within the meaning of Part 4,
(b)
(b) owners of residential units in such buildings,
(c)
(c) persons who are accountable persons within the meaning of Part 4, and
(d)
(d) persons upon whom duties are imposed by virtue of paragraph 5B of Schedule 1 to the Building Act 1984 (dutyholders).
(4) In subsections (1) and (2)—
“” has the meaning given by section 62;
“”: see section 30;
“” means—(a) a higher-risk building within the meaning of Part 4 (see section 65), or(b) a higher-risk building within the meaning of the Building Act 1984.
(5) Parts 3 and 4 confer further functions on the regulator in relation to higher-risk buildings.
5 Duty to keep safety and standard of buildings under review
The regulator must keep under review—
(a) the safety of people in or about buildings in relation to risks as regards buildings, and
(b) the standard of buildings.
6 Facilitating improvement in competence of industry and building inspectors
(1) The regulator must provide such assistance and encouragement as it considers appropriate to—
(a)
(a) persons in the built environment industry, and
(b)
(b) registered building inspectors,
with a view to facilitating their improving the competence of persons in that industry or members of that profession (as the case may be).
(2) For the meaning of “the built environment industry” and “registered building inspector” see section 30.
7 Proposals and consultation relating to regulations
(1) This section applies to regulations under—
(a)
(a) this Part, or
(b)
(b) any provision of Part 4 except section 62, 65 or 68.
(2) The regulator may at any time make proposals to the Secretary of State for the making of regulations.
(3) Before making a proposal, the regulator must consult such persons as it considers appropriate.
(4) Before making regulations, other than regulations proposed by the regulator, the Secretary of State must consult—
(a)
(a) the regulator, and
(b)
(b) such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
8 Duty to establish system for giving of building safety information
(1) The regulator must make arrangements for a person to establish and operate a voluntary occurrence reporting system.
(2) A “voluntary occurrence reporting system” is a system to facilitate the voluntary giving of information about building safety to the person who operates the system.
Committees
9 Building Advisory Committee
(1) The regulator must exercise its powers under section 11A(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to establish and maintain a committee to be known as the Building Advisory Committee, with the following function.
(2) That function is to give advice and information to the regulator about matters connected with any of the regulator’s building functions except its functions relating to the competence of—
(a)
(a) persons in the built environment industry, and
(b)
(b) registered building inspectors.
(3) The Building Regulations Advisory Committee for England, established under section 14 of the Building Act 1984, is abolished.
10 Committee on industry competence
(1) The regulator must exercise its powers under section 11A(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to establish and maintain a committee concerned with the competence of persons in the built environment industry (“industry competence”), with the following functions (and any other function that the regulator considers appropriate).
(2) The functions are—
(a)
(a) monitoring industry competence;
(b)
(b) advising the regulator in relation to industry competence;
(c)
(c) advising persons in the built environment industry in relation to industry competence;
(d)
(d) facilitating persons in the built environment industry to improve industry competence;
(e)
(e) providing guidance to the public (or a section of the public) about ways of assessing the competence of persons in the built environment industry;
(f)
(f) carrying out analysis and research in connection with a function mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (e).
11 Residents’ panel
(1) The regulator must exercise its powers under section 11A(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to establish and maintain a committee with the functions mentioned in this section (and any other function that the regulator considers appropriate).
(2) The committee is to consist of—
(a)
(a) such residents of higher-risk buildings as the regulator considers appropriate, and
(b)
(b) such relevant persons (if any) as it considers appropriate.
(3) The regulator must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the committee includes—
(a)
(a) one or more residents of a higher-risk building who are disabled,
(b)
(b) a body that represents, supports or promotes the interests of any description of disabled people that includes residents of higher-risk buildings, or
(c)
(c) a member of a body within paragraph (b).
(4) The committee is to give advice to the regulator about such matters connected with the regulator’s building functions and relating to higher-risk buildings as the regulator may specify.
(5) The regulator must consult the committee before issuing or revising any of the following—
(a)
(a) guidance to residents of higher-risk buildings about any of their rights or obligations under Part 4 or regulations made under that Part;
(b)
(b) guidance relating to any duty under regulations made under section 89 to give information or documents to residents of higher-risk buildings or...
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