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Building Safety Act – Your duties and responsibilities
Get a clear understanding of your duties, responsibilities and potential liabilities under the Building Safety Act 2022
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Your questions answered on the Building Safety Act 2022
How the Act affects you, your home or your business
Leaseholders, landlords, developers, contractors, consultants, RTM companies and homeowners can all be affected by the Building Safety Act 2022. The Act was passed following the Grenfell tragedy and has introduced a raft of reforms to building regulations in new and existing properties, particularly for higher risk buildings.
Which buildings are affected by the Act?
Relevant buildings under the Act:
- have at least five stories or are at least 11 metres high, whichever comes first
- contain at least two dwellings
- not leaseholder-owned buildings
In the section of the Act that applies to “in-occupation” buildings, higher-risk buildings are defined as those with at least two residential units and are at least 18 metres high, or have at least seven storeys.
Understanding the implications for construction contracts and professional duties
For businesses involved in construction projects, the Act has redefined how responsibilities are shared. At Tees we have a dedicated construction team which advises on drafting and reviewing contracts to reflect new compliance obligations. We support developers, contractors, sub-contractors and consultants in identifying risks and understanding their duties under the Act.
"Tees Law stands out in the legal industry due to its commitment to providing client-focused legal services across a diverse range of areas, including construction law, property law and commercial litigation. The firm’s emphasis on building long-term relationships with clients sets it apart from many competitors which leads to instructions which are of a similar level to other top regional and London firms" Legal 500 2026
New obligations for building owners, developers and contractors
The Act obliges building owners to make their buildings safe, which includes fixing historical safety defects. These obligations are designed to protect leaseholders from paying for all or some of the costs of remediating historical safety defects. This might include costs to replace unsafe cladding on external walls, or internal issues such as fire doors or alarm systems.
Property transactions and remediation
If you’re involved in property sales, purchase and remediation works, the Act has wide implications. Our property conveyancing and real estate teams advise on the legal and financial impact of remediation, as well as the effect of the Act on freehold reversion sales and the purchase of individual flats. We are able to act in relation to all transactions, other than purchases falling directly under this legislation.
Support through dispute resolution
With the changes the Act brings to the rights and duties between landlords and leaseholders, disputes can arise. Our regulatory and dispute resolution teams are on hand to give clear advice on compliance and support through disagreements. We will help find solutions to disputes through arbitration, adjudication and mediation, or if necessary, through court litigation.
Support and guidance on the Building Safety Act 2022
Our team of experts is available to help you with:
- Drafting and reviewing construction contracts to reflect new compliance duties
- Advising developers, contractors, sub-contractors and consultants on liability and risk
- Guidance on remediation works and funding arrangements
- Legal support in property sales, purchases and freehold reversions affected by the Act
- Advice for leaseholders and landlords on their rights and duties
- Dispute resolution through litigation, arbitration, adjudication or mediation
Legal and financial advice under one roof
Tees is a top-tier Legal 500 firm offering joined-up legal and financial services. We have our own independent financial advisers (IFAs), who work closely with our property lawyers, so we can help with any financial issues relating to buying and selling property.
Our advisers provide holistic financial planning, and as we are not connected to any one provider, we can offer a whole-of-market approach for the range of products we can advise on. We can also give independent advice of a whole range of insurance products to protect you and your family. Our IFAs are regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, which means we’re accountable for the advice we give.
Get in touch today, we’re here to help
Our clients range from high-net-worth individuals with complex finances to those with more straightforward needs. We also specialise in the agricultural sector, having a sound understanding of the relationship between business and personal needs.
Our experience with the Building Safety Act
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Key people
Frequently asked questions
Who does the Building Safety Act apply to?
The Building Safety Act affects leaseholders, landlords, contractors, and developers of relevant and higher risk buildings
What is a relevant building?
A relevant building has at least 5 storeys or is at least 11 meters high (whichever is reached first), contains at least two dwellings and is not a leaseholder-owned building.
What is a ‘higher-risk building’?
The obligations in Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022 largely apply to occupied buildings and this is, therefore, referred to as the ‘in-occupation’ part of the regime. To understand whether a building is a higher-risk building, the Act and the Regulations need to be considered together.
For the in-occupation part of the regime, higher-risk buildings are defined as buildings with at least two residential units which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys.
Guidance for understanding whether your building is a higher-risk building in-occupation
Key criteria to consider when determining if a building is higher-risk includes:
- Use criteria: What is my building used for? Does it meet any of the included or excluded categories of building?
- Legal definition of building: How does the building definition in Regulations apply to my building structure?
- Height and storeys: How do the methods for measuring height and storeys in the Regulations apply to my building? Does my building meet either the 18-metre or 7-storey height threshold when measured using these methods?
The Government has provided guidance on the criteria for determining whether a building is a higher-risk building during the occupation phase of the new higher-risk regime.
Who is an accountable person under the Act?
Accountable persons and Principle Accountable Persons are responsible for managing the building safety risks in occupied higher risk buildings. There may be multiple accountable persons in relation to a higher risk building, but there will only ever be one principal accountable person.
The accountable person is generally the person liable to repair the common parts and may be an individual or a company. Where there is only one accountable person, that person will also be the principal accountable person. Where there is more than one accountable person the principal accountable person is the accountable person who:
- Holds a legal estate in possession in the relevant parts of the structure and exterior of the building, or
- Because of a relevant repairing obligation in relation to the relevant part of the structure and exterior of the building.
What are leaseholders’ new rights under the Act?
The Act places the responsibility for remedying defective building on those that those who built them, even where they no longer own the building, and aims to protect leaseholders from defective buildings take responsibility for remedying them and aims to protect leaseholders from crippling bills for historical safety defects.
The leaseholder protections came into force on 28 June 2022, with new financial protections for leaseholders in relevant buildings with relevant historical safety defects.
More information on what leaseholders do and do not have to pay can be found in Remediation costs: what leaseholders do and do not have to pay.
What duties do landlords have under the Act?
A current landlord must provide a Landlord’s Certificate to a leaseholder in each of the following circumstances:
- When the current landlord makes a demand to a leaseholder for the payment of a remediation service charges;
- Within four weeks of receipt of notification from the leaseholder that the leasehold interest in a dwelling is to be sold;
- Within four weeks of becoming aware (either themselves or by notification from another person) of a relevant defect not covered by a previous landlord’s certificate;
- Within four weeks of being requested to do so by the leaseholder;
- Within four weeks of becoming aware of a new leaseholder deed of certificate which is in relation to a lease of a dwelling in the building of which the current landlord is the landlord and which contained information the was not included in a previous landlord’s certificate.
What are the obligation of building owners, developers and contractors under the Act?
Building owners must make their buildings safe. This includes fixing historical building safety defects.
The Act imposes new legal obligations on developers and building owners to protect leaseholders from paying for all, or some of, the costs of remediating relevant historical building safety defects. This might include costs to replace unsafe cladding systems on the external walls of their building, or internal issues such as inadequate fire doors or alarm systems.
More information on building owner’s legal obligation can be found here:
How are disputes under the Building Safety Act resolved?
The majority of applications and appeals under the Building Safety Act are made to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) and allocated to the Residential Property part of the Property Chamber.
A recent court case BDW Trading Ltd v Ardmore Construction Ltd determined that disputes relating to the Building Safety Act can be determined by an adjudicator.
What happens if someone fails to comply with the Act?
Enforcement of resident’s duties is achieved through a contravention notice being served by the appropriate accountable person.
Compliance notices are notices requiring the recipient to take specified steps or to remedy a breach of any requirements in relation to building safety. A compliance notice can be served as either a remedial or preventative measure to remedy a breach or avoid a contravention. A compliance notice can either require the recipient to take specified steps or simply require the recipient to remedy the breach or the matters giving rise to it. It will specify the period for compliance.
The first Tier Tribunal may make a Special Measures Order appointing a Special Measures manager for a building to carry the functions of all accountable persons if it is satisfied that there has been a serious failure by an accountable person to comply with their duties or a failure to comply on two or more occasions.
The Act also creates a number of criminal offences in relation to higher risk buildings including
- Contravention by an accountable person of a relevant requirement which places one or more people at critical risk
- Contraventions of certain compliance notices
How does the Act affect property sales?
If the property you own falls under this Act there are additional documents that we will need to be able to provide as part of the process. If these are not available we will be able to provide guidance on the steps needed to obtain them.
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