“Building registration is a major step… to ensure high-rise residential buildings are safe”. That’s the message from the Health and Safety Executive, as it calls on relevant building owners and managers to ensure they are ready to register their buildings with the new Building Safety Regulator this year.
Established as part of a package of measures outlined within the Building Safety Act 2022, a new building registration scheme has been set up by the Building Safety Regulator. All high-rise residential buildings – defined as 18 metres tall or at least seven storeys and above – in England must have been registered with the Regulator six months from April 2023.
The building registration scheme opens in April 2023, with updates available here.
Across England, there is believed to be around 12,500 buildings that come under the scope. A named responsible person must also be outlined for each, who is responsible for maintaining their safety.
The Building Safety Regulator was established to protect high-rise residents from unsafe building practices in England in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. The department is an independent body within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), led by Chief Inspector of Buildings, Peter Baker.
A new campaign aimed at owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings will highlight their new legal duties. It will call on those responsible for the safety management of higher-risk buildings to prepare for a new wave of regulatory change to ensure that they are ready to step up and comply.
The registration process is a crucial stage in setting up the new building safety regime. Registering buildings in scope will be a legal requirement and owners and managers who fail to comply by October 2023 will be investigated and may face prosecution.
HSE Chief Executive Sarah Albon said: “This registration process is an important step towards building a safer future for residents of high-rise buildings. We want it to be clear where responsibility for safety in these buildings lies.
“As the Building Safety Regulator, we will draw from our experience to provide guidance and oversight for the industry and lay the foundation for a world-leading building safety regime, which is a part of our mission to protect people and places.”
Chief Inspector of Buildings, Peter Baker, said: “Our message is clear – industry must raise its standards and residents of high-rise buildings in England must be kept safe.
“This is a landmark moment for building safety, the information provided through registration will be an invaluable part of our crackdown on unsafe building practices. Those who are responsible for high-rise residential buildings must register; failure to do so will be against the law.”
The HSE says that building registration is a major step in a package of measures to ensure high-rise residential buildings are safe for residents and users. It follows the introduction of Planning Gateway One in August 2021 and will be followed by more robust building control of high-rise developments, and the certification of occupied high-rise buildings by the new Regulator.
A campaign will run throughout March to help owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings prepare for their legal responsibilities.
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