New building safety regulations come into force

Improvements to building regulations have come into force, creating new regulators for high-rise buildings and construction manufacturers in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

New rules brought in by the Building Safety Act 2022 will also improve protections for leaseholders and owners of new-build homes to ensure developers and freeholders foot the bill for necessary improvements and repairs.

Leaseholders of properties in buildings over 11 metres or over five storeys, will be protected from having to pay costs of rectifying safety flaws including unsafe cladded. Developers of new build homes will also have to take greater responsibility for safety and quality issues with homes.

Where developers or freeholders cannot be traced or cannot pay for repairs, the Building Safety Levy will also be extended to cover costs under greater powers for the government to make industry pay for its mistakes. New powers will also be given to the Housing Secretary to block irresponsible developers from continuing to build new homes.

Two new regulatory bodies have also been created under the Building Safety Act 2022. The Building Safety Regulator, overseen by the Health & Safety Executive, will enforce tighter regulations on high-rise buildings, while a National Regulator for Construction Products will be responsible for ensuring building materials meet updated safety standards.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:

“Hundreds of thousands of innocent leaseholders now have the legal protection they rightly deserve, freeing them from a financial burden they should never have faced.

“I’m pleased that most of the largest developers have agreed to play their part in solving this.

“But there is more to do – we are focusing intensively on work with lenders to unlock the mortgage market and empower leaseholders to take their next step on the property ladder, and we will remain vigilant if anyone fails to act on the pledges they have made.”

The measures introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 come five years after 72 residents died in a fire at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in Kensington. The rapid spread of the fire was attributed to the cladding used on the building’s exterior, which was found to be unsuitable for use due to its flammability. The use of the same cladding on buildings elsewhere in the country saw leaseholders of flats have property values wiped out and sent bills by freeholders for their replacement.