23 November 2021 4 min read

Building Safety Bill

What Does It Mean for Construction?

 

The building safety bill is still making its way through the parliament but it is all about the golden thread of information and although it focuses on high-rise residential buildings, it will be a key talking point with all larger developers.

Over four months ago, the House of Commons approved the bill in regards to building regulations, called the Building Safety Bill. It’s a milestone not only for homeowners and residents but also for building owners, who struggle to keep proportionate measures in place to manage safety risks.

Although the Bill in question is not directly aimed at larger property developers, the same rules apply to them. Building owners will be required to manage safety risks and clearly state responsibilities at different stages for the entire duration of a project. Wanna find out what other implications it might have for the future of your business? Make yourself the perfect cuppa and keep on reading!


What actually is a Building Safety Bill?

First things first. Before we go into detail about its impact on construction, let’s discuss what the Building Safety Bill actually means. It refers to the government bill that makes provision about the safety of people inside and around buildings, be it a house or a high-rise property. Another paramount purpose of the Bill is to improve the standards of buildings.

The crucial element of the Bill is the provision of the building safety regulator that allows residents to raise their concerns about the safety of a given building. As a result, residents of high-rise buildings will be entitled to express their opinions about the management of their building - something that didn’t take place before.


What Can We Expect Now?

It goes without saying that any major bill is going to be followed by some drastic changes and the Building Safety Bill is no exception in this regard. This particular bill will introduce lasting generational change, setting out a crystal clear pathway on how the buildings should be not only constructed and maintained but also made and kept safe.

The Building Safety Bill also includes the framework to improve compliance, giving tougher penalties for those who fail to follow the rules. On top of that, homeowners of properties built up to 15 years prior to the change will be able to claim compensation for any defective construction work.

When it comes to building owners, their role will be much more complex: from managing safety risks, being responsible for safety during design, construction, completion and occupation of high-rise buildings, to demonstrating having appropriate safety measures put in place. Anyone who does not comply with these requirements will possibly have to face criminal charges.


What It Means for the Construction Industry

The Building Safety Bill will make a huge impact on the construction industry. First of all, it will set out very clear regulations to follow for the design, construction and management of buildings. On top of that, the Bill will strengthen the construction products regulatory regime by proposing new requirements in place in order to ensure the safety of more products. And as if this wasn’t enough, a new developer tax and a levy on developers are going to be introduced with the Bill to make sure the construction industry takes to heart all new safety measures.

To make things easier for you, we created the list of the most significant changes coming with the Building Safety Bill. Take a look:

  • Duty to facilitate building safety: higher-risk buildings

  • Duty to keep safety and standard of buildings under review

  • Facilitating improvement in competence of industry and building inspectors

  • Duty to appoint building safety manager

  • Registration of higher-risk buildings

  • Duty to display building assessment certificate

  • Provision of Safety Case Report to the regulator

  • Mandatory reporting requirements

  • Keeping information about higher-risk buildings

Remember, however, that this is not a complete list! So, if you would like to get more detailed information on the Bill, we suggest that you read it yourself here. Brace yourself though - it is quite long.

Hopefully, you get the idea now of what the Building Safety Bill is and what its introduction means to you and your company. Therefore, if you want to be one step ahead of the upcoming changes and prepare your company for the new safety regulations, we have a suggestion. Invest in a construction management software, such as Archdesk that will support you in meeting the health and safety requirements thanks to the tools like Forms, Document Management and To-Do’s.

Curious to know how our solutions can help you? Talk to our specialists to find out! I need to learn more about Archdesk!


 
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2024-03-28 19:59:56