FAQs

The Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022 and makes ground-breaking reforms to give residents and homeowners more rights, powers, and protections – so homes across the country are safer. The Building Safety Act 2022 will bring in several measures intended to make buildings safer. The Act is divided into six parts (see below) with the majority of the substantive detail and reforms set out in parts two to five.

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: The Regulator and its Functions

Part 3: Building Act 1984

Part 4: Higher-Risk Buildings

Part 5: Other Provision about Safety, Standards, etc.

Part 6: General

A higher-risk building (HRB) is defined as a building in England that: is at least 18m in height or has at least 7 storeys; and contains at least 2 residential units. This is a wider criteria for determining whether a building is a higher-risk buildings available from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in England is part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The BSR was set up under the Building Safety Act 2022 to:

• regulate higher-risk buildings (HRBs)
• raise safety standards of all buildings
• help professionals in design, construction, and building control, to improve their competence

The BSR sets out rules to protect the design and construction of higher-risk buildings.  They help give residents confidence in the safety and standards of their building.  BSR has a legal responsibility to consult with residents through the residents panel.

The gateway process for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England is a new approval process that involves three checkpoints to ensure building safety:

• Gateway 1 - The planning stage, where applicants must demonstrate that fire safety is considered
• Gateway 2 - The preconstruction stage, where the Regulator must approve the application before construction can begin
• Gateway 3 - The completion stage, where the Regulator must approve the application before the building can be occupied

The golden thread of information is a digital record of a building's information that is used to ensure a building is safe and compliant with regulations. It includes information about the building's design, construction, maintenance, and refurbishment. The golden thread is a key part of the Building Safety Act.