Building Safety Act 2025 - Key Points

What it does / Why it exists

• Introduced after the Grenfell Tower disaster to improve safety standards in residential buildings, especially higher-risk buildings.
• Seeks to ensure accountability in building design, construction, and ongoing management.

Who / what it applies to

• Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs):
  Buildings over 18 metres (or 7 storeys) with two or more residential units. Also includes certain care homes and hospitals above that threshold.
• Buildings between 11-18 metres in height also coming under stricter registration & remediation obligations in some contexts (e.g. unsafe cladding) to close knowledge gaps.

Major Duties & Regimes

• Building Safety Regulator (BSR):
  The regulator oversees HRBs, design/construction/refurbishment safety, and ensures compliance.
• Golden Thread of Information:
  Requires a digital trail of all safety-related decisions and building information over the building’s lifecycle. Helps ensure transparency, maintenance of safety systems etc.
• Duty Holders’ responsibilities:
  Principal Designers, Principal Contractors, Accountable Persons (those responsible for HRBs after completion) all have clear responsibilities for fire safety, structural safety, maintenance, etc.
• Gateway System at construction stages:
  Before construction starts each “gateway” ensures that risk assessments, compliance, and safety controls are in place. The Building Safety Regulator must approve passing through these gateways for HRBs.

New / Enhanced Measures in 2025

• Building Safety Levy:
  From autumn 2025, a levy on new residential buildings in England requiring building control approval. Intended to raise funds (circa £3.4 billion over 10 years) to help remediate existing unsafe building defects.
• Duty to Remediate Unsafe Cladding on buildings over 11m height. Clearer deadlines and enforcement (including criminal offences for non-action).
• Expanded Registration:
  HRBs already had to register with the BSR. Now requirements are expanding to include buildings 11-18m where relevant (to better identify risk and ensure remediation track-record).
• Stronger product regulation:
  New regime for construction products via a National Regulator of Construction Products (NRCP). Unsafe or non-compliant products can be withdrawn.

Impacts & Things to Watch

• Design & specification decisions matter more than ever (fire safety, structural safety etc.). Early-stage design must consider risk, materials, maintenance over time.
• Increased liability: Those involved in design/construction/ownership face greater legal and financial responsibility, including criminal penalties in some cases for failing to comply.
• Information management & maintenance: Keeping records (digital), ensuring safety systems remain effective, regular assessments etc. These are not optional.
• Cost implications: Developers of new residential buildings face the Building Safety Levy. Owners of existing buildings may face remediation costs, especially for unsafe cladding.