Regulations and Guidance
Latest
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The contradiction between current legislation and guidance on what constitutes a higher-risk building was highlighted by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision in Smoke House & Curing House, 18 Remus Road, London E3 2NF (LON/00BG/HYI/2023/0024). In Smoke House, the FTT applied the HRB Regulations 2023, finding that a roof garden was a storey, despite it being an open rooftop which was not fully enclosed. The FTT noted that the guidance appeared to go beyond the wording of the legislation and was not a reliable interpretation of the law.
In response, the government has added a note to the guidance stating that it and the Building Safety Regulator are considering the view of the FTT in Smoke House but "until stated otherwise, the sector and regulatory bodies should continue to refer to existing government guidance". This uncertainty leaves practitioners in a difficult position when advising on buildings where the inclusion of a roof garden may be the deciding factor in whether the building is an HRB.
The definitions of HRB's in the BSA 2022 are supplemented by the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/275) (HRB Regulations 2023), which provide that a storey does not count towards the seven storeys if the storey is a rooftop plant or machinery area or consists exclusively of roof-top machinery or plant room (regulation 6, HRB Regulations 2023).
The government's guidance on what constitutes a higher-risk building is set out in three separate documents, housed on a collection page (see Guidance on the criteria for being a higher-risk building). The guidance states (emphasis added):
"A storey must be fully enclosed to be considered a storey. The roof of a building should not be counted as a storey. Open rooftops such as rooftop gardens are not considered storeys and should not be counted as such when determining the number of storeys or measuring the height."
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The Building Safety Alliance, a collaborative effort uniting leading industry figures, associations, and bodies, has announced the publication of two pivotal documents aimed at bolstering competence standards and fostering the recruitment of qualified professionals within the residential occupied sector.
The newly unveiled documents, BSAS 01:2024 Organisational Capability Management System Standard and Guidelines outlining competence expectations for stakeholders involved in specifying, procuring, and managing services for occupied high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings, serve as essential resources for organisations seeking to enhance competence within their building safety functions. These initiatives align with the imperative of meeting the requirements set by the new building safety regime and its regulations pertaining to competence.
The Standard will next become part of the British Standards Institute (BSI) standards development process, towards a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) or full British Standard (BS). Both documents are available free of charge - anyone interested in the Standard, will be engaged in a feedback process:
To request a ccopy of the Organisation Capability Standard CLICK HERE
To request a copy of the Guidelines for Competence CLICK HERE -
The first phase of the BSR's campaign activity has focused on encouraging residents to visit the dedicated campaign page and to sign-up to newsletters for further information to help understand their responsibilities and how they can take part in important deicison making about their building.
You can visit the page here: Your home, your safety - Making Buildings Safer
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The Health and Safety Executive has published new guidance today (4 April) on preparing a Building Assessment Certificate (BAC) application for Principal Accountable Persons (PAPs).
The PAP for a high-rise residential building must apply for a BAC when told to do so by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) within 28 days - the new application portal is also live here
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As the building control authority for higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Regulator is reminding the construction industry about the deadline to be part of the transitional arrangements for building control approval.
These transitional arrangements allow projects to stay under the current building control regime – and avoid transfer to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Doing this ensures that eligible projects stay under the old rules and will allow projects - including building safety remediation work - to continue without delay.
This means:
- If your project had building control arrangements established before October 1st, 2023, and has made substantial progress before April 6th, 2024, it qualifies for transitional provisions.
- Under these provisions, your project can continue to be regulated by your existing building control provider. This will require your building control provider to be appropriately registered with the BSR.
- In order to benefit from this, it is essential that you give notice to the relevant local authority, indicating that your building work has progressed sufficiently. If your project involves an Approved Inspector (AI), ensure to provide a copy of this notice to your AI as well.
- Failure to send this notice to the local authority will result in your project transferring to the BSR.
- Projects must use a suitably Registered Building Inspector (RBI) to continue benefitting from the transitional arrangements.
Developers must take the required steps for their projects to qualify.
Further information is available on the news page of the Making Building Safer site.