The Higher‐Risk Buildings (Key Building Information etc.) (England) Regulations, which introduce the requirement for Principal Accountable Persons to register Higher‐Risk Buildings, will come into force on 6 April 2023. Existing Higher‐Risk Buildings must be registered before October 2023 and the Regulations set out the specific information that will need to be provided to the Building Safety Regulator in an electronic format within 28 days of applying to register a building.

A significant amount of information will be required, including the materials used in the structure, roof and external walls; the number of staircases; the fire and smoke control equipment in the building; and the type of evacuation strategy. Detailed guidance from the Building Safety Regulator is expected to be published shortly with full implementation of the Building Safety Act completed by October 2023.

Commenting on this incoming requirement, FIS CEO, Iain McIlwee stated:

“This is an important development and underpins the need for better information management in the sector.  For our members, the critical takeaway is that we need to ensure that we are documenting effectively decisions and recording as built.

This hunt for live information has uncovered problems and we are starting to see a growing number of legacy claims hit the press.  Within these Design Development elements in the contract are front and centre and proving critical.  For projects moving forward, clarification and qualification of design details needs to be an element of pre-construction that should happen at tender stage, not on the site under time and cost pressure.”

FIS is running a Building Safety Act session at our Conference in London on Monday 27th February where we will be looking at common problems, what the inspector will be looking for and how we deliver the Golden Thread.  We also have a detailed introducton to the Building Safety Act here that includes a number of tools designed to support compliance, including our new Guide to Developing a Competency Management Plan and Quality Management Toolkit.

For advice and guidance on spotting traps and understanding design liability issues (including how to avoid being the accidental designer) visit the FIS Contractual and Legal Toolkit.