Key changes to the Building Regulations approval process, and stakeholders’ roles within it, came into effect in October as a result of the 2022 Building Safety Act.

But what are the changes, and what impact will they have on construction projects? In the first of a 2-part series, Lees Associates’ Partner Andrew Paulson explains all.

What is the Building Safety Act?

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) amended the Building Act 1984. It makes changes to the Building Regulations and processes needed to achieve Building Control approval of construction projects. These changes took effect from October 2023.

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, the Building Safety Act is primarily concerned with “Higher-Risk Buildings” (HRBs) but the changes to the Building Regulations will affect all projects. Of note, it creates powers to prescribe requirements for those who procure, design, plan, manage and undertake building work and introduces new enforcement powers for building control authorities.

Which changes to the Building Regulations affect all construction projects?

While there are more significant changes that affect buildings that can be defined as “Higher-Risk Buildings” (these will be the subject of Part 2 of this piece), there are notable changes that affect all construction projects. The biggest change is the introduction of new dutyholder roles, similar to those already in place under the CDM Regulations, 2015.

The principle behind these new roles is exactly the same as for the existing CDM ones: everyone who has a stake in a project (the client, the designers and the contractors) has statutory duties to ensure they have arrangements and systems in place to plan, manage and monitor both the design work and the building work to ensure both are compliant with Building Regulations.

Who are the new Building Regulations dutyholders and what are their statutory duties?

Professional client

E.g. Any client with a construction project on behalf of or for the furtherance of their business.
Statutory duties:

Make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring a project to deliver compliance with Building Regulations. This means appointing the right people with the right competencies.
Where there are different firms working on different aspects of the project, appoint a Principal Designer to be in charge of the design work and a Principal Contractor to be in charge of the building work.
Provide building information to every designer and contractor on the project and have arrangements to ensure information is provided to designers and contractors to make them aware that the project includes any existing or proposed higher-risk building work.
Co-operate and share information with other relevant dutyholders.

Domestic client

E.g. A private end-user client.
Statutory duties:

Where there are different firms working on different aspects of the project, appoint a Principal Designer to be in charge of the design work and a Principal Contractor to be in charge of the building work. If this is not done, by default the designer in charge of the design phase of the project is the Principal Designer and the contractor in charge of the construction phase of the project is the Principal Contractor.
Provide any building information that they have, or it would be reasonable for them to obtain, to designers and contractors working on the project.
Co-operate with anyone working on or in relation to the project to the extent necessary to enable them to comply with their duties or functions.

Lees Associates Partners Kathryn Archer and James Hall on site.

Principal Designer (can be an organisation or an individual)

Statutory duties:

Plan, manage and monitor the design work during the design phase.
Take all reasonable steps to ensure the design work carried out by them and anyone under their control is planned, managed and monitored so that, if built, it would comply with the Building Regulations.
Ensure that they, and all those working on the project, co-operate, communicate and coordinate their work with the client, the Principal Contractor, and other designers and contractors.
Liaise with the Principal Contractor and share information relevant to the building work.
Assist the client in providing information to others.
Sign statutory declarations when work is complete.

As architects and lead consultants, we at Lees Associates expect to be appointed as Principal Designer for Building Regulations on all of our projects, and we have always fulfilled the duties listed above. The only difference is this is now a statutory obligation.

Clients who only employ architects to prepare planning drawings and then pass detailed design responsibility to contractors will need to give their contractor the dual role of Principal Designer and Principal Contractor, having first verified their competence to act in these roles.

Principal Contractor

Statutory duties:

Plan, manage and monitor the design work during the building work.
Co-operate with the client, the Principal Designer, and other designers and contractors to ensure that the work complies with all relevant requirements of the Building Regulations.
Ensure that they, and all those working on the project, co-operate, communicate and coordinate their work with the client, the Principal Designer, and other designers and contractors.
Liaise with the Principal Designer and share information relevant to the building work.
Ensure contractors comply with their duties.
Assist the client in providing information to others.
Sign statutory declarations when work is complete.

Designer

E.g. Any designer employed by the client to work on their project.
Responsibilities:

Plan, manage and monitor design work so that if the building work were carried out, it would comply with the Building Regulations.
Co-operate with the Client, designers, and contractors to the extent that if the building work were carried out, it would comply with the Building Regulations.
Carry out design to ensure that if building work were carried out, it would comply with the Building Regulations.
Provide sufficient information about the building's design, construction and maintenance to allow the Client, other designers and contractors to comply with the Building Regulations.
Consider any other design work and report any compliance concerns relating to the design compliance to the Principal Designer and Client.
Advise the Principal Designer or the Client whether any work they are designing is Higher-Risk Building work.

Contractor

E.g. Any person or company who carries out, manages or controls any building work.
Responsibilities:

Plan, manage and monitor the building work so as to comply with the Building Regulations.
Co-operate with the Client, designers and contractors to the extent necessary to ensure that it would comply with the Building Regulations.
Ensure the building work they are carrying out complies with the Building Regulations.
Provide each worker under their control with appropriate supervision, information and instruction to ensure the building work complies with the Building Regulations.
Provide sufficient information about the work to allow the Client, other designers and contractors to comply with the Building Regulations.
Consider other building works when only carrying out part of the building work and report any concerns relating to compliance to the Principal Contractor.
Provide advice to the Principal Contractor or the Client on whether any work is Higher-Risk Building work.

The pavilions at One Hyde Park, where Lees Associates have worked a number of times, which would now class as a “Higher-Risk Building”.

What is ‘competence of dutyholders’?

The client is ultimately responsible for assembling and appointing the dutyholders on their project. This is underlined by the fact that they, or someone on their behalf, must sign a declaration that they have assessed and are content that the Principal Designer, Principal Contractor and any other appointed person have the necessary competence to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

The new Act stipulates that the client must also check that nobody involved has had a “serious sanction” against their name in the last five years. A serious sanction can include the issuance of a compliance or stop notice, or a conviction under certain legislation.

As Principal Designers, Lees Associates already have a Competency Questionnaire that we send to all relevant parties to ensure that we are satisfied with their competence and to demonstrate that to the client.

How will the building process change?

The actual technical and functional requirements of the Building Regulations are not changing. The difference is in the application process and the level of information required at the different stages of the process.

This makes it necessary to consider the whole process from the outset: how the scheme will be constructed, how change will be managed (changes need permission too) and how the functional requirements of the Building Regulations will actually be met and, crucially, evidenced.

One notable new requirement is at the end of a project for the Client, Principal Designer and Principal Contractor to issue a joint written statement to the Building Control Body clearly stating that the building work complies with the Building Regulations. While the duty to ensure compliance already exists, this new formal statement adds a new layer of responsibility for all interested parties.

If you have any questions about the Building Safety Act, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

In the meantime, look out for Part 2 of our Building Safety Act summary, focusing on what it means for Higher-Risk Buildings.

The Building Safety Act: What You Need to Know