On 24 January Government laid the Higher-Risk Buildings (Key Building Information etc.) Regulations 2023 in Parliament. The regulations set out the high-level key building information that the principal accountable person (PAP), who is responsible for the repair of the structure and exterior of the building) will have to give the Building Safety Regulator. They also clarify the individual responsibilities of multiple accountable persons for the different parts of a higher-risk building.
A copy of the regulations can be found here
The key building information required includes the high-level information needed by the Building Safety Regulator to enable them to fulfil several roles set out in the Building Safety Act. It will allow analysis of trends and risks in high-rise residential buildings and prioritisation of assessment of the fire and structural safety in existing high-rise residential buildings. This will assist the Regulator in deciding when to call in and assess the safety case report for that building.
The regulations describe the key building information as being information about the principal use of the building and any subsidiary uses (which will identify mixed use buildings), details of any ancillary building that is attached to the HRB but not a part of it and details of outbuildings and basements. It also includes the number of staircases and storeys in the building, materials used in the external walls and roof and any fixtures attached to the walls. It will also require details of the structure, energy supplied to the building and any energy storage system. Finally, details of the evacuation strategy and fire and smoke control equipment will be required.
The key building information will have to be supplied to the Regulator as part of the PAP’s application for registration of their HRB, although they will have 28 days from submitting the application to supply the key information. The PAP has a statutory duty to provide this information. It is worth noting that registration is due to open in April with a six month window for all existing HRBs to apply for registration, so all existing HRBs will need to have this information before October this year.
The information will have to be submitted digitally in a format or by a specific mechanism to be set out by the Regulator, with the regulations expressly enabling the Regulator to specify a website address.
These Regulations do not fully describe everything to be required in the golden thread, but give an initial start and clear steer to PAPs as to what they will need to register buildings for which they are accountable.
Where more than one accountable person is involved in ownership or operation of a higher-risk building it is vital to clarify which accountable person is responsible for each part of the building. Ownership of residential buildings is not always simple and clear, leading to multiple accountable persons with complex lease arrangements dictating complicated repairing responsibilities for different parts of the building.
The regulations will enable all those involved in managing building safety in a higher-risk building to identify which accountable person is responsible for a particular part of a building in relation to their responsibilities under the Building Safety Act, and also allow the new Building Safety Regulator to identify who is responsible for the different parts of the building.
A copy of the regulations can be found here
The associated explanatory memorandum can be found here
DLUHC have also published a government response to the consultation on the regulations which can be found here