The new building safety framework established by the Building Safety Regulator in line with the Building Safety Act 2022, is now in effect. The end of September deadline for the registration of high-risk residential buildings has been and gone, but what does it mean for you?
If you own or manage an occupied high-rise residential building or are responsible for a building’s design, construction and completion you’ll need to get ready for new roles and responsibilities. Read on for guidance on how you can prepare for building information requirements.
When is the Key Building Information deadline?
High-risk residential buildings (HRRB) must now be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The registration of all existing HRRBs began on 6 April 2023 and must be completed no later than 30th September 2023. From October onwards, all new buildings must be registered before being occupied.
What is a High-rise Residential Building (HRRB)?
Buildings with at least two residential units which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least seven storeys.
In addition, Key Building Information must then be provided to the BSR within 28 days after registration. If the building is occupied but not registered after this date, being non-compliant will be an offence.
Who is responsible for Key Building Information?
Alongside the registration of HRRBs, new responsibilities came into effect on 6th April 2023 for dutyholders — known as principal accountable persons (PAPs) — under the Building Safety Act 2022.
The individuals or organisations responsible for managing fire and structural safety risks in a high-rise residential building are known as “accountable persons” and among them, there is a specific role called the “principal accountable person”. In some cases, they are the same person.
Accountable Person
The accountable person may be the owner or an entity legally obligated to evaluate and oversee structural failure and fire risks to people inside and around the building. They must prevent a building safety risk from happening (spread of fire and/or structural failure), reduce the seriousness of an incident if one happens and repair common parts of the building.
Principal Accountable Person (PAP)
Each building must have a clearly identifiable Principal Accountable Person, who could be an individual, a commonhold association, local authority, or social housing provider. If there is just one accountable person for a building, then they will also be the principal accountable person.
Additional duties include:
- Registering buildings with the Building Safety Regulator.
- Provide Key Building Information for each building in their portfolio within 28 days of submitting their registration application
- Prepare a Safety Case Report that identifies a building’s major fire and structural hazards and information on how they will be managed and controlled should an incident occur
- Submit updates whenever there are structural changes or updates to key building information within 28 days
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Building Safety Act and Key Building Information post-Grenfell
Sadly, a great many factors contributed to the Grenfell Tower Fire and the fact that it was wrapped in highly flammable materials or cladding was just the beginning. Subsequent inquiries uncovered many failures including non-compliant fire doors and door closures, faulty firefighting lifts, and lack of regulation over building materials, record keeping and the transfer of information.
In the event of an emergency, the fire services need to be able to quickly paint a clear picture of what makes up a building in order to make critical life-saving decisions fast. When the London Fire Brigade arrived at Grenfell, they found that some basic information relating to the tower was either wrong or missing entirely. The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) manual was incomplete missing vital fire safety information and did not contain an as-built fire safety strategy. There was an absence of an operational evacuation plan and no list of vulnerable residents.
The resulting inquiry found the regulatory system covering high-rise and complex buildings was not fit for purpose and The Building Safety Act and secondary legislation, ‘The High-rise Buildings (Key Building Information) (England) Regulation 2023’, introduces new requirements on those responsible for higher-risk buildings to provide the BSR with key building information. The information must be digitally submitted and accessible at all times so that the BSR, residents and interested parties can see that a building is registered and who is responsible for its fire and structural safety.
This regulation is a significant step towards improving the handover and accessibility of fire safety information for decision-making and consequently the safety of those living in high-rise buildings.
What is the Building Safety Regulator (BSR)?
Where previous building regulations and guidance may have been clear about building outcomes to be achieved, it did not include anything about roles and responsibilities. The Building Safety Regulator was established to regulate high-rise buildings in England and hold dutyholders accountable and is currently being led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The building safety reforms rolled out by the BSR give clear accountability and statutory responsibilities throughout the design, build, and occupation of a building, as well as any refurbishment or retrofitting. This helps ensure that buildings are designed and constructed to be safe and built to better standards in line with building safety reform.
The BSR is responsible for:
- Exercising its powers in line with regulatory best practice.
- Taking a consistent and proportionate approach.
- Targeting enforcement activity in cases where action is needed.
- Working closely with existing regulators such as local authorities and fire and rescue authorities.
Building Safety Regulator timeline
The HSE are working with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to implement the legislation and consulting with industry bodies and other regulators and partners such as local authorities fire and rescue services and building control bodies to set up the processes the BSA will work to. These will be operational to the below timetable:
April 2023
- In April 2023, registration for existing occupied high-rise buildings opened, granting accountable persons a 6-month window to register with the BSR by 1st October 2023.
October 2023
- The deadline for registering existing occupied high-rise buildings passed. From this point, all new buildings must be registered before being occupied.
- The BSR became the Building Control Authority on 1st October 2023 for all higher-risk buildings in England. From this date, developers were required to apply to the BSR for building control approval before starting building work on any projects involving HRRBs in England.
- The registers for building control inspectors and approvers opened ahead of registration becoming mandatory in April 2024.
- Any new HRRBs (that fall within the new regime — see note below) can only be occupied after the BSR has checked that the building work is compliant and has issued the building with a Completion Certificate.
N.B. Transitional period: If HRRB projects meet the following criteria they would continue to completion using the old regulatory regime.
- An initial notice has been given to a local authority (and not rejected) or full plans deposited with a local authority (and not rejected) before 1st October 2023.
- And, a notice has been given to the local authority (and the local authority has received the notice) confirming that the works are sufficiently progressed before 6 April.
- And where the initial notice was given by an approved inspector, that approved inspector has become a "registered building control approver" before 6 April 2024.
However, the approved inspector overseeing the project must have registered as a building control approver by 6th April 2024 to enable them to continue supervising the ongoing HRRB work. For more information read the Building Safety Regulator FAQ Explainer here.
April 2024
- Building control inspectors and approvers must register.
- By April 2024, a Building Safety Case and Building Safety Report must be completed for all occupied HRRBs. Accountable Persons must present their Safety Case Reports to apply for a building assessment certificate for their HRRBs when invited by the BSR.
Key Building Information requirements for contractors
Contractors now have accountability and statutory responsibilities against the new regulatory framework under the Building Safety Act 2022 when buildings are being constructed. The construction of high-quality buildings must also demonstrate compliance with the below building regulation requirements so that a building is safe to occupy, and safety risks can be managed effectively when a building is in use. Contractors must:
Meet digital competency requirements: Contractors must be able to demonstrate their organisations have the right capabilities, including digital and technology skills.
Create a ‘golden thread’ of information: Contractors must keep a robust digital record of design, construction and safety information in line with Golden Thread duties.
Submit a Gateway 3 application: Contractors must submit a Gateway 3 application to the BSR to demonstrate that the completed construction aligns with building regulation requirements and that a high standard of construction has been delivered. To learn more about Gateway 3, read our blog, ‘Gateway 3 of the Building Safety Act Explained’.
Collate Building Safety Case information: Contractors will need to collate information such as the building’s construction, basic building information, the design and installation of any prevention and protective measures, their current condition, how they should be managed and maintained, and any changes to them during building alterations or refurbishments.
Handover accurate building information to the asset owner: Information must be handed over to the building owner so that a building can be registered, and key building information submitted ahead of occupancy.
Key Building Information requirements for asset owners
Building information across a property portfolio must be digitised to account for documentation. Asset owners must then maintain accurate, good quality, up-to-date information on their buildings so that it is available to the Building Safety Regulator, fire and rescue services or residents. In higher-risk buildings, accountable persons will need to demonstrate that they have implemented effective, proportionate measures to manage building safety risks. Asset owners must:
Digitise building information: Consistent documentation should be easily accessible across a portfolio of building stock. Asset owners should be able to identify information gaps and track document compliance in one place.
Register high-rise residential buildings: The Principle Accountable Person (PAP) must register all high-risk residential buildings (a building that has at least 7 floors or is at least 18 metres in height) that residents occupy or could occupy by 30 September 2023. It is an offence to allow residents to occupy an unregistered building after this date.
Submit Key Building Information: When applying to register a high-rise residential building with the Building Safety Regulator, PAPs must submit Key Building Information containing documentation about the building’s structure and fire safety.
Produce a Safety Case Report: As the principal accountable person for a high-rise residential building, you will be required to produce a safety case report in order to demonstrate that risks have been identified and assessed associated with the spread of fire and structural failure.
Maintain a ‘golden thread’ of building information: Asset owners must ensure all building information and processes are up to date, accurate and stored digitally to manage action, and audit documents for gateway approval and compliance.
What’s the best solution for the job?
The successful management of Key Building Information will mean different things to different people. For contractors looking to achieve Gateway 3 compliance and build out additional robust building safety information to deliver to the client without slowing a project down, the ability to integrate a solution to sit alongside existing systems that talk to each other and enable a single source of truth may be a requirement.
For asset owners who now have new responsibilities as PAPs, being able to transfer and trace information easily across different stakeholders and systems, from planning to construction and the operation of a building, will be necessary.
For everyone involved with the requirements set out by the BSA, it will be important to consider the way documentation and data work together. Today, typically, building information is stored as documents or data on multiple applications. By digitalising building information, it’s possible to not only see all documentation in one place, but also make decisions based on data. For example, with Zutec’s dashboards, you can centralise all your documents and data in one place, gaining real-time visibility to track project progress, identify missing information or risks, and assess compliance levels effectively.
Information within the golden thread will inevitably need to be useful across different systems to meet the needs of different stakeholders. Aligning information to industry standards and schemas provides the first step to connecting information, and creating a consistent digital language through all information management activities across the life of an asset.
For example, something as simple as standardising how files are named (using BS EN ISO 19650-2) reduces the time required to find information. When timing is critical, such as when the fire services need to assess a building quickly for their firefighting strategy, it should be easily findable.
As a platform that enables a single source of truth through data and document storage, discoverability and interoperability, Zutec can deliver a solution to address the requirements outlined in this blog.
To find out more and take full control of Key Building Information, you can watch our latest webinar, ‘Making Building Information Digital: Post-Grenfell Impact‘, to gain valuable insights into the critical role of building information provision, and how digitalisation will help create safer homes for all. Alternatively, get in touch with our expert team to arrange a consultation and demo.