Introduction
The new legislation for the Building Safety Act has very honourable intentions, but unfortunately it has confused Property Managers, with some Managing Agents refusing to take on new buildings that are ‘in scope’ of the Regulations.
This may be due to a lack of understanding on a simplistic level of what needs to be done when it may not be necessary for a Property Manager to get ‘stuck’ in the depths of the legislative requirements – while I am not a specialist consultant on this subject myself, the overview or summary below shows my interpretation of the process, which I hope will help increase the level of understanding and confidence within the industry.
Where to Start
The first thing to remember is that Property Managers are not expected to conduct the entire process themselves; instead, the Property Managers role should be to organise and liaise with a specialist or Consultant who can manage the process and guide you and the client through the requirements of the Regulations.
Having said that, it is important for the Property Manager to have a good understanding of the process and what may be required, so that you can communicate confidently with your clients.
The specialist or Consultant engaged will be aware of the full legal requirements of the Regulations, however, we can simplify the process to understand what is required by breaking down the project into several smaller sub-tasks (or stages) to follow.
After speaking to several Consultants, it became clear from my own interpretation that the primary stages to follow can be summarised as follows:
Stage 1: Identify if a building is “In Scope”.
The very first stage is to determine whether each individual building will qualify as a building in scope of the Building Safety Act. A building “in scope” is currently defined as being 18 meters or above; or having at least 7 stories.
A survey should therefore be conducted on each building to determine its height and the number of stories.
If the survey determines that the building is not in scope, then the building will not currently need to be registered. However, if the building is in scope then it will need to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator.
Stage 2: Identify all Duty Holders.
Once a building has been identified as being in scope, all of the relevant duty holders will need to be identified and notified.
This will include the Principal Accountable Person, the Accountable Person and the Responsible person. Your specialist or consultant will be able to explain the legal responsibilities that will fall onto each of the roles.
Once the relevant parties have been identified and notified the building can be registered with the Regulator.
The current deadline set by the Regulator for buildings in scope to be registered is the 30th September 2023.
Stage 3: Identify Documentation needed.
For this stage of the process, your specialist or consultant will need to identify the relevant documents and information that will be required for a specific building in order to complete the safety case report, taking into account the unique firefighting systems and design of each building.
This will form a comprehensive check list, that is tailored to each building; identifying this documentation will be a significant task if the Operation Manuals are not readily available.
Stage 4: Gathering the documents & Information
Once the Consultant has identified the documents required for the building, the task of collating those documents can begin.
The documents will need to be gathered, stored and organised electronically with the ability to manage any actions arising from the assessments.
Stage 5: Identify Missing Documentation & information.
By collating all of the documents and information held for a building and checking this against your list of documents needed, the Consultant will be able to identify any gaps that need to be filled.
At this stage, the remaining documents, information and assessments can be instructed to complete the checklist.
Stage 6: Creating the Safety Case Report.
Now that the required information and documentation has been gathered and stored safely, the specialist Consultant will be able to use the information held to prepare the Draft Safety Case Report for the building, which is then used to justify the compliance and safety of the building.
This report would be used to justify an application to the Regulator for the Building Assessment Certificate to be issued.
Stage 7: Obtaining the BSA Safety Certificate
In order to obtain a certificate of compliance from the Regulator, the specialist Consultant would be able to issue the Safety Case Report that has been produced.
The Regulator will then review this and advise whether a certificate can be issued, or alternatively, whether any further information is required.
Summary and conclusion
Clearly there is a long process that needs to be followed for all buildings that are in scope, therefore it is likely that a Consultant will need to be engaged throughout this process unless you have a specialist employed internally.
While obtaining a good Consultant will be helpful, finding a suitable digital platform to use will also be important so that the building information and documentation can be stored, monitored and adapted efficiently on a continual basis.
As a closing note, I would encourage all Property Management professionals to sign up to multiple training sessions, webinars and advisory notes in relation to the Building Safety Act; repeated exposure to this will help to reinforce our understanding of the process that needs to be followed.
This legislation is here to stay, so it is important that everyone working in the industry learns to accept and understand the requirements, as it will form the future and safety of our industry.
Alex Marshall-Clarke, Head of Property Management, MIH Property Management Ltd
The Legislation is constantly changing on this topic and legal advice should always be obtained.
