The Building Safety Act takes forward the Government’s commitment to fundamental
reform of the building safety system. The Act gives effect to policies set out in the Building a
Safer Future consultation response, published in April 2020. This detailed how the
Government intends to deliver the principles and recommendations of Dame Judith
Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, published in May
2018.
The Act also acts as the vehicle for wider improvements including changes to the Architects
Act 1997, the Housing Act 1996, and provisions to establish a National Regulator for
Construction Products and a New Homes Ombudsman. And it takes forward further
changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order or FSO),
building on the Fire Safety Act 2021.
The objectives of the Act are to learn the lessons from the Grenfell Tower fire and to remedy
the systemic issues identified by Dame Judith Hackitt by strengthening the whole
regulatory system for building safety.
This will be achieved by ensuring there is greater accountability and responsibility for fire
and structural safety issues throughout the lifecycle of buildings in scope of the new
regulatory regime for building safety. This involves:
• establishing a new Building Safety Regulator in England to oversee a new, more
stringent regime for higher-risk buildings and drive improvements in building
safety and performance standards in all buildings;
• ensuring residents have a stronger voice in the system, and establishing
additional protections for leaseholders in relation to financing remediation
works;
• increasing access to redress through the Defective Premises Act 1972;
• driving industry culture change and incentivising compliance;
• strengthening the Fire Safety Order; and
• providing a stronger and clearer framework for national oversight of
construction products.