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# The Building Safety Act 2022, What It Means If You're Not Building Skyscrapers
Headline version: yes, the Building Safety Act is very "towers and cladding" -- but it also quietly changes the rules for pretty much everyone who puts a shovel in the ground or a screw in a wall.
1. What the Act is and who the BSR is
The Building Safety Act 2022 came out of Grenfell and the Hackitt Review to tighten building safety from design all the way through occupation.
It creates a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) inside HSE, whose job is to:
- Regulate higher-risk buildings
- Raise safety standards of all buildings
- Push up competence in design, construction and building control
So even if you never go near a tower block, you're working in a world where HSE/BSR expect better records, better competence and more accountability.
2. Higher-risk buildings vs "everything else"
Higher-risk buildings (HRBs) (England):
- At least 18m high or 7+ storeys, and
- Contain at least 2 residential units
These get the full regime: registration, accountable persons, Gateways, golden thread, mandatory occurrence reporting, etc.
But the Act also:
- Tightens the Building Regulations framework for all building work, not just HRBs
- Brings in new dutyholder roles and competence requirements for any project where Building Regs apply -- including domestic work
Domestic extensions, lofts, garages, refurbs -- these all sit inside the upgraded system.
3. The bits that hit small builders directly
a) Extended liability -- Defective Premises Act
The Act extends how long you can be chased for certain defective residential work:
- For dwellings completed before 28 June 2022 -- limitation under the Defective Premises Act 1972 is stretched from 6 years to 30 years
- For dwellings completed after 28 June 2022 -- new claims window is 15 years
So if your work makes a dwelling unfit for habitation, you can be sued far longer than before. You need PI/public liability cover that actually survives that long, and better records to defend yourself.
Read the Defective Premises Act guide for the full picture.
b) Dutyholders and competence -- not just CDM
New dutyholder roles under amended Building Regulations (England) apply on all regulated building work, not just big jobs:
- Client -- the person for whom the work is done (including domestic clients)
- Designer / Principal Designer -- anyone doing design work; PD coordinates design safety and compliance
- Contractor / Principal Contractor -- anyone carrying out/managing building work; PC plans, manages and monitors construction
This sits alongside CDM 2015, but is Building Regulations-focused. For a small domestic job, in practice:
- You, as the main small builder, often end up as Principal Contractor and sometimes Principal Designer by default if you're doing design-build
- You must make sure work complies with Building Regs and that you and anyone you bring in are competent (skills, knowledge, experience)
- The Act pushes BSR/HSE to police competence more actively, including through guidance and enforcement
c) Building control changes -- new "Registered Building Control Approvers"
Old Approved Inspectors are being replaced by Registered Building Control Approvers (RBCAs) under new regulations that took effect in April 2024.
As a builder you'll notice:
- Your usual AI firm has rebranded as a Registered Building Control Approver, or
- You're pushed more towards local authority building control if they haven't sorted registration
The people signing off your jobs are under tighter regulation, so they may demand better information and evidence from you.
4. Golden thread, reporting and products -- what matters below 18m
Golden thread
The "golden thread" -- a structured digital record of key building safety information -- is formally mandatory for HRBs.
For smaller/domestic jobs it's not legally named that way, but the direction of travel is clear: keep proper records of what you built and what you used.
Translate that into:
- Photos of works at key stages
- Copies of drawings, specs, certs and test results
- Product data sheets for critical safety items -- fire doors, insulation, cavity barriers, structure
Mandatory occurrence reporting
The formal mandatory occurrence reporting (telling BSR about serious safety issues) sits mainly on Principal Designers and Principal Contractors during design and construction of HRBs, and Accountable Persons during occupation of HRBs.
For your average extension or house refurb, you're not filing MORs -- but the same mindset applies: if there's a serious fire/structural safety issue, expect scrutiny from BSR/HSE and possibly building control.
Construction products -- if what you fit turns out dodgy
The Act brings in a tougher regime for construction products:
- Products on the UK market must be "safe products" -- under normal/foreseeable use they must not present a risk to health and safety
- It will be possible to ban or restrict unsafe products, require warnings and actions, and pursue civil/criminal sanctions for unsafe supply
- The regime covers all construction products, not just new ones -- historic breaches can still be pursued
Your position as installer:
- You're expected to follow manufacturer instructions and use products for their intended purpose
- If a product is later recalled, you may need to help identify where it was used and cooperate with remedial work
- Again, decent records suddenly matter a lot
5. Timeline and where this is going
Key dates (England):
- 2022-23: Act came in; HRB regime and BSR formally set up
- 2023-24: HRB registration, Gateways, extended DPA limitation, dutyholder/competence changes, and design/occupation parts of the regime took effect
- April 2024: regulations flipped Approved Inspectors to Registered Building Control Approvers
- 2025-26: more detailed product safety regulations and competence standards across trades are being phased in; BSR's enforcement approach is maturing
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland has its own Building Standards system and does not have the same BSR or HRB regime, but is tightening fire and cladding rules separately.
Northern Ireland has a separate building regulations framework, again without the BSR model; local guidance applies.
6. What a small builder should actually do now
Stop thinking "it's only towers" -- extended liability and competence apply on domestic work now.
Keep better records:
- Photos at first fix, fire stopping, structural work
- Copies of certificates and sign-offs
- Product data sheets for key safety-critical products
Know your dutyholder hat:
- On most small jobs you are effectively Principal Contractor, and often Principal Designer if you're tweaking designs
- Make sure you can show how you planned, managed and monitored work for compliance
Check your insurance:
- Talk to your broker about the 15/30-year DPA periods, and whether your cover and any run-off arrangements match that risk
Stay competent on paper:
- Keep tickets, NVQs, CPD and manufacturer training up to date; BSR's whole job includes driving up competence across the industry
Know who your building control body really is:
- Local authority or properly registered private approver -- ask the question
If you're touching people's homes, the Building Safety Act is about you too -- not just the people in hard hats on tower blocks.
What to do next
- Read the Defective Premises Act guide for the full picture on 15/30-year liability
- Check your insurance with your broker -- specifically ask about DPA exposure and run-off cover
- Start keeping better records from today -- photos, product data sheets, building control correspondence
- Check your building control body is properly registered under the new regime
- Read the building regulations guides for Part-by-Part breakdowns of what applies to your work
Sources
- Building Safety Act 2022 -- legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/30 -- the full Act including BSR, HRBs, dutyholders, product safety, DPA extension
- Defective Premises Act 1972 (as amended) -- legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/35 -- extended limitation periods for dwelling defects
- Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 -- dutyholder and competence requirements
- Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 -- replacement of Approved Inspectors with RBCAs
- Dame Judith Hackitt, Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety (2018) -- "Building a Safer Future" -- the review that led to the Act
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