June 9, 2023
Registration of buildings with Building Safety Regulator underway
From our colleagues at Barbour EHS.
Last week, the HSE reported that hundreds of high-rise buildings are being registered with the new building safety regulator as the stricter regime to protect residents begins.
It has said around 750 applications have been opened with the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) since its registration process for high-rise buildings opened in April.
All high-rise residential buildings must be registered with BSR by law. Those responsible for the safety of buildings have until the end of September to register or face prosecution.
BSR is pleased with the early response from the building industry but is urging all owners and managers to act now. Up to 12,500 buildings in England are covered by the new regulator, set up in response to the Grenfell Fire tragedy and officially launched earlier this year.
BSR is an independent body set-up by the Building Safety Act 2022 and part of the HSE. Its launch is the biggest change in building safety for a generation.
HSE’s Director of Building Safety, Philip White, said: “We’re pleased with the early response from industry but I urge owners and managers to act now and register their buildings if they haven’t already done so. This is a legal requirement they will have to meet by the end of September.
“Registration is a crucial part of the new regime and our efforts to ensure residents of high-rise buildings feel protected and safe in their homes.”
High-rise residential buildings that are at least 18 metres in height or have seven or more floors containing at least two residential units must be registered with BSR.
Building owners or managers must provide the number of floors at or above ground level, height in metres, the number of residential units, and the year of construction.
Guidance on the key building information (KBI) that will also need to be recorded under the new building safety laws has now been published. This KBI registration element will then be added to the HRB online registration portal later this summer, allowing sufficient time for owners and managers of buildings to submit their KBI by the end of September.
HSE
May 2023
Our Comment
What is important to understand your responsibilities if you are deemed to be the accountable person particularly with regards to registering in scope high rise buildings and also to ensure the registration deadline in October is met. As a reminder, from the 1st April 2023 – Building Registration will involve a multi-stage process:
- provide basic building information (below)
- after providing this basic building information, additional key building information will need to be submitted to the BSR
- the BSR will then determine the priority of reviewing Building Safety Case Reports across all properties
- buildings will need to complete a Building Safety Case Report and other key information as part of the ongoing operational requirement for the Building Safety Act that will need to be made available to the BSR when requested
Contact
At William Martin we have a nationwide team of experts who offer a comprehensive range of health and safety compliance services. As part of the Marlowe Software, Risk & Compliance division, William Martin also has access to a wider range of complementary services.
This content has been produced in association with our sister company, Barbour.
For all enquiries, please contact us or call our team on 0203 819 8829.
