The draft Building Safety Bill was published on 20 July 2020, taking forward reforms to the building and fire safety system. Nearly one year later, the full Building Safety Bill has been passed, which entails some important legislation affecting the housing and construction sectors.

A key purpose behind the new reforms is to make homes safer for people and to give a voice to residents, protecting them in terms of their own safety and their rights. Overhauling current regulations, these reforms are here to stay and set out clear-cut guidelines on how residential buildings should be upheld and constructed. Tougher penalties for noncompliant landlords are going to be enforced and developers will need to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman scheme.

The requirement for residents to have more influence in the management of their buildings is an important factor with the new bill and the Building Safety Regulator will play a key part in instances where residents in high-rise buildings feel ignored. Building safety concerns can be raised directly to the owners or managers of buildings and then progressed to the regulator if progress is not being made.

For building owners, transparency and a stringent level of safety procedures for residents is a fundamental part of the bill. They will be required to manage safety risks throughout the entirety of the building’s lifetime, whether this be during the design, construction, completion or occupation of high-rise buildings.  “Building owners will need to demonstrate that they have effective, proportionate measures in place to manage safety risks. Those who don’t meet their obligations may face criminal charges.”

The Bill will create a clear framework for the design, construction and management of safer, high-quality homes. It will strengthen the construction products regulatory regime, with new requirements to make sure more products and particularly that people are safe. A National Regulator for Construction Products will oversee and enforce the rules in the years to come. A new developer tax is also being introduced to ensure that the industry makes a contribution to setting things right.

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CHIC’s new Digital Asset Delivery Framework will support members in being able to create the knowledge digital infrastructure they will need, to meet the requirements of the Bill for existing homes.