The Building Safety Act 2022 has recently come into effect and aims to refine regulation within the UK’s building industry.
Secondary legislation and guidance will be released over the next few months and years. However, the primary legislation will deliver more significant protection for leaseholders and change building rules.
One of the key changes to affect the sector will be the introduction of two new main regulators:
Building Safety Regulator (BSR)
A significant change within the act is the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR), in which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will “enforce a new, more stringent” regulatory rule on the safety and performance of “high-rise” buildings in scope in England.
Construction products regulator
In addition to the BSR, another new regulator will enforce construction products.
The National Regulator for Construction Products will conduct market surveillance to spot and remove unsafe materials faster, plus conduct and commission its product testing to investigate non-compliance.
Adam Davis, a Director with Palmers and Head of our Construction Law team, said: “As with any significant new piece of legislation, the devil is in the detail and, over the coming months, the impact on the construction industry will become a lot clearer.
“However, it is safe to say that construction project compliance, which is already complex, will not become less constrained by regulations.
“It will therefore become more important than ever to seek specialist legal advice before embarking upon a new project to ensure that your business is properly protected and meeting the relevant legal requirements.”
For help and advice with all aspects of construction law, please get in touch with our expert team.