Building Safety Act Archives

Build UK members mandate completion of Building Safety Section of Common Assessment Standard

by Clair Mooney | 25 Sep, 2025 | Building Safety Act

Following the publication of Build UK’s latest version of the Common Assessment Standard on 1 July, a number of Build UK members have confirmed that companies in their supply chain must complete the mandatory Building Safety section by 1 October 2025. This applies to all companies carrying out work under the Building Safety Act.

Those members include BAM, Bowmer + Kirkland, Galliford Try, Kier, Mace, Morgan Sindall, Tilbury Douglas, VINCI and Wates, and companies working for any of these organisations should check that they have now completed the Building Safety section. The guide to the Common Assessment Standard question set includes guidance on answering the questions, including the evidence that can be submitted to support a response and where further information can be found.

If you have already the Common Assessment Standard from any one of the Recognised Assessment Bodies you do not need to obtain certification again from any others. Instead, they can agree to share their data at no cost with the other Recognised Assessment Bodies so it is visible to more Contractors and Clients. Don’t duplicate: giving permission to share your data is quick and simple and will help businesses across the supply chain to save time, reduce costs and win work.

The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry included a recommendation to introduce a licensing scheme for Principal Contractors wishing to work on Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs). Build UK has met with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to present the Common Assessment Standard, which is already used by over 21,000 suppliers to demonstrate their organisational capability. As a next step, we have been asked by MHCLG to host a joint roundtable with members that undertake the role of Principal Contractor on HRBs to discuss the objectives of a licensing scheme and how existing initiatives such as the Common Assessment Standard might be used effectively.

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Build UK publishes guidance on Gateway Three

by Clair Mooney | 17 Sep, 2025 | Building Safety Act

Building on its Gateway Two guidance, Build UK has published an overview of Gateway Three and the information and documents that must be included within an application to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) for a Completion Certificate for a Higher-Risk Building (HRB). Gateway Three is a new application process which requires all the information to be submitted, even where it was previously provided as part of the Gateway Two application.

The Build UK guide, which is available to FIS members through our membership of Build UK, is aligned with the BSR application portal and sets out the full list of questions that must be completed, including whether they are multiple choice, free text or a PDF document upload, to make it as easy as possible for members preparing and submitting a Gateway Three application. If a Partial Completion Strategy was agreed at Gateway Two and part of the building is intended to be occupied before work is completed on the rest of the building, then a Partial Completion Certificate must be applied for in relation to the work that has been completed. As is the case at Gateway Two, the BSR will carry out an initial assessment of the Gateway Three application to ensure that all the documents required have been submitted, which is known as the validation stage.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published updated guidance on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations in relation to the fire performance of flat entrance doors in existing blocks of flats. Designed to help Responsible Persons comply with their obligations to check that fire doors are regularly checked and remain suitable in accordance with the fire risk assessment originally undertaken, the update clarifies that the regulations do not require all existing flat entrance doors to be replaced to satisfy current standards for new blocks of flats as required by the Building Regulations.

The BSR and the Leasehold Advisory Service have launched a free online building safety training programme for Resident Management Companies to help them understand the Building Safety Act and their legal obligations for managing safety in High-Rise Residential Buildings.

Feed in to FIS response to Call for Evidence on the Building Safety Regulator.

by Oscar Venus | 22 Aug, 2025 | Building Safety Act

The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, chaired by Baroness Taylor of Bolton, has launched an inquiry into building safety regulation, with a particular focus on the work of the Building Safety Regulator, which was established following the Building Safety Act 2022.

The Committee is seeking evidence from building industry specialists, housing associations, architects, resident groups, safety experts, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders on a number of questions.

FIS has prepared the following response to questions posed by the Committee on behalf of our community of over 600 companies operating as principal contractors, specialist contractors, designers and product suppliers in the fit-out, finishing and refurbishment of buildings of all types.

Download the Draft FIS Response

Here

House of Lords call for evidence on the Building Safety Regulator

by Clair Mooney | 21 Jul, 2025 | Building Safety Act

Following concerns raised by Industry that delays in approvals by the BSR have slowed down the delivery of new buildings and homes, the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, chaired by Baroness Taylor of Bolton, has launched an inquiry into building safety regulation, with a particular focus on the work of the Building Safety Regulator, which was established following the Building Safety Act 2022.

The Committee invites interested individuals and organisations to submit evidence here by 31 August 2025.

New legislation to improve building safety in Wales

by Clair Mooney | 21 Jul, 2025 | Building Safety Act

Safety, accountability, and residents’ voices were the three key principles of a landmark building safety Bill that was laid before the Senedd earlier this month, according to Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant.

The Building Safety (Wales) Bill forms part of a wider programme of reforms aimed at improving safety in these buildings, and is part of the Welsh Government’s broader response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy which seeks to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again, and includes:

A programme of work aimed at addressing fire safety issues in multi-occupied residential buildings of 11m and above;
Significant reforms to the building control system;
Introducing new regulations for high-risk buildings;
Clearer responsibilities for duty holders;
Mandatory registration and regulation of building control professionals.

The Bill will require building safety risks to be assessed and managed while buildings are in occupation, for the benefit of residents and others, with a robust enforcement regime to back that up. Fire safety duties will also apply to certain Houses in Multiple Occupation.

The legislation will also create clear lines of accountability for duty holders. These duty holders will have legal responsibility for assessing and managing building safety, ending confusion over who is responsible for the safety of residents and others.

Additionally, the Bill will see residents in all regulated buildings provided with greater reassurances about the safety of their homes and clear routes for redress to raise building safety complaints. While also placing responsibilities on residents to play their part in keeping their building safe.

Cabinet Secretary Jayne Bryant said:

This landmark Bill will fundamentally transform safety in multi-occupied residential buildings across Wales.

Its key principles are safety, accountability and residents’ voices, and it goes wider and further than existing legislation in other parts of the UK.

It creates clear legal responsibilities for owners and others, gives residents new rights and pathways to raise complaints, enables standards for professional assessments, and provides robust enforcement powers when safety requirements aren’t met.

Because the safety and wellbeing of people in their homes must always be our priority.

This Bill is part of a wider programme to ensure that buildings in Wales are safer, and that people are protected in their homes.

The legacy of Grenfell Tower must be meaningful change. We owe it to those who lost their lives, their families, and the survivors to ensure that such a tragedy can never happen again.

There are several differences between this and the UK Building Safety Act 2022. The Welsh bill:

Applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more units regardless of height whereas the UK Act primarily applies to higher-risk buildings over 18m or seven storeys
Expands the definition of higher-risk buildings to include hospitals, care homes and children’s homes while the UK Act focuses solely on residential buildings
In Wales, local authorities will regulate the occupation phase with the HS&E overseeing registration. In England, the HSE Building Safety Regulator oversees both construction and occupational phases.

For more information on the Welsh Bill click here.

Build UK announces key Common Assessment Standard update

by Clair Mooney | 1 Jul, 2025 | Building Safety Act, Technical

Build UK has published an updated version of the Common Assessment Standard, and the Building Safety section is now mandatory for completion by all companies that carry out work under the Building Safety Act. Version 5 also contains updates to the Corporate & Professional Standing; Environmental; and Fairness, Inclusion & Respect sections.

Under the Building Safety Act, anyone appointing individuals or organisations to undertake design or building work has a duty to ensure they are competent. Organisations must demonstrate ‘organisational capability’, and the Common Assessment Standard is being used by a growing list of clients and contractors across the public and private sectors to demonstrate compliance.

Companies will be required to complete the updated question set when they next go through the certification process for the Common Assessment Standard with a Recognised Assessment Body, and a number of Build UK members will be specifying that members of their supply chains must have successfully completed the Building Safety section by 1 October 2025.

Jim Parlour, FIS Head of Technical, said:

“These ongoing changes to the common assessment standard are welcomed by our members who strive for best practice and wish to distinguish themselves. Demonstrating compliance with the now mandatory Building Safety criteria is not without challenges, and FIS have been working with our members to provide direct intervention and guidance over the last few months on approach to this deadline.

Members who are struggling to demonstrate fulfilment of the criteria should contact the FIS for advice and support.”

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