UK · Building Safety · High-Rise · 2026
Building Safety Act 2022: Obligations for High-Rise Residential Buildings
Which buildings are in scope, who the Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person are, what the Building Safety Case and golden thread require, and how the Building Safety Regulator enforces compliance.
18m / 7 storeys
Height or storey threshold defining a higher-risk building
2 years
Maximum imprisonment for the most serious non-compliance offences
30 years
Retrospective limitation period for historic defective premises claims
Source: Building Safety Act 2022 · Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023 · Health and Safety Executive (Building Safety Regulator)
Direct answer
The Building Safety Act 2022 requires an Accountable Person for every higher-risk building (18m+ or 7+ storeys, 2+ residential units) to register it with the Building Safety Regulator, maintain a Building Safety Case, and keep a digital golden thread of building information. Non-compliance is a criminal offence with unlimited fines and up to 2 years' imprisonment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Building Safety Act 2022?
The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) is UK legislation introduced in response to the Grenfell Tower fire, creating a new building safety regime for higher-risk residential buildings. It received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022 and its core duties came into force in phases from October 2023. The Act establishes the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), operated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), creates the roles of Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person, requires a "golden thread" of building information to be kept and maintained throughout a building's lifecycle, and introduces a new gateway system for building control approval on higher-risk buildings at design, construction and completion stages. The Act applies across England; a related but distinct regime applies in Wales.
Which buildings are covered by the Building Safety Act?
The Act's most stringent duties apply to "higher-risk buildings" (HRBs): buildings that are at least 18 metres in height OR have at least 7 storeys, and contain at least 2 residential units. This threshold captures most high-rise blocks of flats. Hospitals and care homes meeting the height/storey test are also in scope during the design and construction phase (though the in-occupation duties for hospitals and care homes are handled differently). Buildings below the HRB threshold are not subject to the Accountable Person regime, but they remain subject to the Fire Safety Act 2021 and general fire safety obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Determining whether a specific building qualifies as an HRB requires checking height (measured from ground level to the top of the top storey, excluding roof-top plant) and storey count against the statutory definition in the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023.
Who is the Accountable Person and what do they do?
The Accountable Person (AP) is the organisation or individual who owns or has a legal obligation to repair the common parts of a higher-risk building — typically the freeholder, the Right to Manage company, or the residents' management company, depending on the building's structure. There can be more than one Accountable Person for a single building where different parties are responsible for different parts (e.g. a landlord responsible for the structure and a separate management company responsible for internal common parts). Where there is more than one Accountable Person, one must be designated the Principal Accountable Person (PAP) — generally whoever is responsible for the structure and exterior of the building. Every Accountable Person must register in-occupation higher-risk buildings with the Building Safety Regulator, assess building safety risks (particularly fire and structural safety), take reasonable steps to prevent building safety risk incidents, and prepare and maintain a safety case report.
What is a Building Safety Case and what must it contain?
The Building Safety Case (or "safety case report") is a document the Principal Accountable Person must prepare and keep under review for each registered higher-risk building. It sets out the building safety risks (principally structural failure and spread of fire), and explains how those risks are being managed and mitigated on an ongoing basis. The safety case must be supported by evidence — surveys, inspections, test certificates, maintenance records — and must be kept up to date as circumstances change (e.g. after works, incidents, or changes in occupancy). The Building Safety Regulator can request the safety case report at any time and can issue compliance notices if it considers the case inadequate. A poorly evidenced or generic safety case is one of the most common reasons the BSR pushes back on registration applications.
What is the "golden thread" of information?
The golden thread is a requirement to create, maintain and hand over accurate, up-to-date digital information about a higher-risk building throughout its entire lifecycle — from design and construction through occupation, refurbishment and eventual demolition. It must include information such as the building's design, construction methods and materials used (especially fire safety-critical elements like cladding and compartmentation), details of the Accountable Person(s), the fire and emergency file, and records of maintenance and changes made to the building. The golden thread must be stored digitally and be readily accessible to the Accountable Person, the Building Safety Regulator, and (in redacted form as appropriate) residents. In practice this typically requires a structured document and data management system that survives changes in managing agent or freeholder — information cannot legally live only in one person's inbox or filing cabinet.
What is the Building Safety Regulator and what powers does it have?
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is a division of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), established under the Building Safety Act 2022, responsible for overseeing safety and standards for all buildings and enforcing the specific regime for higher-risk buildings. Its key powers include: registering higher-risk buildings and approving registration only where satisfied a compliant safety case exists; enforcing the three "gateway" approval points for new HRBs (Gateway 1 at planning, Gateway 2 before construction starts, Gateway 3 before occupation); issuing compliance notices requiring an Accountable Person to take specific action; prosecuting for non-compliance, with unlimited fines and up to 2 years' imprisonment for the most serious offences; and overseeing the wider building control profession, including a new register of building inspectors and building control approvers.
What are the consequences of non-compliance with the Building Safety Act?
Non-compliance carries serious consequences. Failure to register a higher-risk building, failure to maintain an adequate safety case, or failure to comply with a compliance notice from the BSR are criminal offences that can result in unlimited fines and, for the most serious breaches, imprisonment of up to 2 years. The BSR can also issue a "special measures order" placing a building under the control of a special measures manager where an Accountable Person is failing in its duties, at the Accountable Person's cost. Beyond direct enforcement, the Act also extended the limitation period for claims relating to defective premises under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 30 years retrospectively (15 years prospectively), significantly increasing legal exposure for developers and freeholders in relation to historic building safety defects, including cladding.
How can IgeraFincas help Accountable Persons manage Building Safety Act compliance?
IgeraFincas is built for exactly the document-heavy, evidence-based compliance the Building Safety Act demands: (1) Golden thread document store: the Accountable Person or managing agent uploads all building safety documentation — surveys, fire risk assessments, maintenance records, gateway approvals, contractor certificates — into a single, structured, always-accessible repository. (2) Instant answers with the source cited: when a resident, director or the BSR asks a question about a specific building safety measure, IgeraFincas answers by citing the exact document and page, not a generic summary. (3) Resident communication: leaseholders in higher-risk buildings can ask questions about fire safety measures and building safety case status via web widget or WhatsApp, reducing the burden on Accountable Persons managing resident anxiety after Grenfell-era safety concerns. (4) Audit trail: every document upload and every answer given is logged, supporting the evidential record the BSR expects to see behind a safety case report. IgeraFincas does not replace a fire risk assessor or building safety professional — it organises and surfaces the documentation those professionals produce.
IgeraFincas for Accountable Persons
Keep your golden thread of building safety information organised and answer resident queries instantly, with the source document always cited.
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