Building Safety Bill Receives Royal Assent

Intended to make historic changes to building safety, the Building Safety Bill has today received Royal Asset.

Among the sweeping reforms which the Building Safety Act 2022 (the “BSA”) will bring into law are:

• establishing a Building Safety Regulator as part of the Health and Safety Executive tasked with overseeing the safety and performance of buildings;
• introducing three ‘gateways’ during the planning, design and construction stages of higher-risk buildings to ensure rigorous, safety-focused oversight throughout a building’s lifecycle;
• changing the limitation period for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 (the “DPA”);
• implying terms within leases such that, where possible, the costs of remediating historical safety defects in a building are not passed to leaseholders;
• creating a new national regulator for construction products;
• obliging new home developers to provide a new home warranty with a minimum cover of 15 years; and
• empowering the Government to block developers and product manufacturers from the housing market as a means of getting the industry to pay for remediation works.

The BSA is set to significantly impact the built environment. Although the transition period for the majority of the BSA’s provisions is 12 to 18 months, numerous key changes (such as those to the limitation period for claims under the DPA), will come into force within the next year.

Should you have any questions on the new legislation or require assistance with cladding issues, please contact Brenna Baye or any member of the Edwin Coe Cladding team.

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