WHAT’S NEW?
FIRE SAFETY ACT 2021 (“THE ACT”)
The Act received Royal Assent on 29 April
2021 and amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which deals with fire safety in buildings. It has been designed to ensure people can feel safe in their homes, and that a tragedy like
the Grenfell Tower fire never happens again. The key changes are as follows:
- The Act provides clarification as to who is accountable for reducing the risk of fires.
- It provides that a 'Responsible Person' who could be, for example, the owner or manager of a multi occupied residential buildings,
must assess and mitigate the fire safety risk associated with both (1) the structure and external walls of a building and (2) entrance doors to individual flats and communal parts of the
building.
- The fire risk assessment for the building must be updated to cover both of the areas referred to above. The Responsible Person can
appoint a fire risk assessor to assist with compliance.
- Failure to comply with obligations contained within the Act could result in enforcement action being taken against the Responsible
Person.
The Act is designed to provide a
foundation for secondary legislation which will not require a further Act of Parliament, but will incorporate the recommendations from the Grenfell Inquiry. This may include matters such as regular
lift inspections, review of evacuation plans and clear fire safety instructions to residents.
The Act is complemented by the Building
Safety Bill.
BUILDING SAFETY BILL (“THE BILL”)
The Bill is currently making its way
through Parliament and in the Queen’s speech on 11 May 2021 the Queen confirmed that the Bill will be brought forward in this term of Parliament. It is therefore expected to come into force later
this year.
The aim of the Bill is to address the
concerns raised around fire safety, the existing building safety regime and any confusion around the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the construction process. This will be achieved by
ensuring there is greater accountability and responsibility for fire and structural safety issues throughout the lifetime of buildings. This includes a new and stricter regulatory regime specifically
for ‘high risk buildings’; a high risk building is one which is 18 metres or more above ground level or contains more than 6 storeys (ignoring any storey below ground level).
However, there has been a call for this
minimum height requirement to be extended to include all construction in the UK. We may therefore see further change in the future.
The Bill is an overarching framework, and
provides that much of its detail will ultimately be set out in separate secondary legislation. However, some of the key changes are as follows:
- The introduction of a new Building Safety Regulator ('BSR') who will be tasked with overseeing the new, more stringent, regime for
high risk buildings as well as ensuring that all residential buildings meet regulatory requirements during the planning, design, construction and occupancy phases of a building’s life.
- The creation and expansion of the roles of various dutyholders to ensure accountability and statutory responsibility across the
design and construction of high risk buildings. The most notable being the creation of the 'Accountable Person' who will be legally responsible for building safety on occupation. The Accountable
Person can be an individual, a partnership or corporate body and can be a management company. They will have to:
- Assess the building safety risks and prepare a Safety Case Report to be submitted to the BSR;
- Appoint a Building Safety Manager who is responsible for managing building safety risks on a day to day basis;
and
- Apply to register the building as a high risk building.
- The introduction of a new system of three 'gateways' or 'check points' for high risk buildings at planning, design and construction
stages to ensure that regulatory requirements are checked in detail at each point. The BSR will require evidence that the relevant standards have been satisfied before one can pass through one
gateway to the next.
- The Bill proposes a ‘golden thread of information’ which is a live digital document with accurate and up-to-date information of the
building data around fire safety matters.
- New or increased powers are to be granted to the Architects’ Registration Board to assess the competence of architects against agreed
criteria and to require and monitor continuing professional development.
- Personal liability of directors and officers for breach of the various duties and obligations introduced by the Bill.
- A Building Assurance Certificate will need to be obtained from the BSR in respect of all high risk buildings in occupation, whether
existing or new, and the building will need to be registered. The BSR will only issue a Certificate if they are satisfied that the Accountable Person is complying with the statutory obligations
placed on them.
- Enforcement powers are to be expanded, including extending time limits for prosecution for non compliance to 10 years, together with
the BSR having power to prosecute all offences and to issue compliance and stop notices.
Contact an expert member of our team now for your Free, no obligation, quote.
Email: info@fsc1.co.uk
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