The Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) places new more stringent building safety responsibilities on resident-led organisations (Right to Manage (RTM) and Resident Management Companies (RMCs)) which will be accountable persons for in-scope higher risk buildings.
It is important to note that the resident led entity will be the Accountable Person and lay directors will not be Accountable Persons in their personal capacity. This, however, does not relieve resident-directors of personal liability if they are involved in an offence being committed under the Act. The problem is that many lay directors are as they suggest are not competent in building safety.
To support this new role, the Act and its subsequent legislation will allow such resident led organisations to appoint a Building Safety Director (BSD) with relevant expertise, to their board to support them with meeting their building safety duties.
The benefit of having a BSD is that they will be able to provide independent, expert advice and support on the building's safety, and ensure that it meets all relevant safety regulations and standards. Having a BSD in place will also help to ensure that any safety risks that are identified are fully understood and effectively managed.
This should provide both residents and other stakeholders with peace of mind that the building is being managed effectively and is safe and secure.
It is understood that following the governments consultation on BSD’s that there will not be a specific number of buildings that a BSD can be involved in at any given time. However, the BSD must be able to carry out their duties effectively, which may include:
- conducting regular site visits,
- reviewing safety reports,
- advising the directors on building safety and compliance,
- communicating with residents and management companies and agents,
- coordinating with local authorities and emergency services,
- monitoring and evaluate building safety risks and hazards, and
- providing guidance and support to both directors and residents alike.
The number of buildings that a BSD can manage will depend on various factors, including the size and complexity of the buildings, the level of risk, and the resources available to the BSD and this will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
However, the BSD will be responsible for supporting the management companies in ensuring that the building is safe for residents and visitors, and this may require regular meetings with the directors, residents as well as liaising with managing agents on the building's safety features and potential hazards or risks.
It is thought that due to the level of accountability and the on-going skills shortage that is becoming more apparent in respect of building safety that it will be very difficult to recruit and ensure that this is affordable for resident led organisations, especially where they only have a single building.
This together with the new requirements regarding the provision of digital solutions to support safety and information management means that for many, engaging their own BSD will be extremely difficult.
The competence of BSDs will need to be checked by the RMC/RTMs and BSD’s will also have to have in place suitable PI insurance to allow them to complete their duties.
Organisations such as ARMA, have provided their members with easy-to-use resources to understand their obligations and those that that don’t feel comfortable undertaking the BSD role themselves without help can reach out to organisations such as Building Safety Management Solution Ltd who have recently launched an innovative fractional service with turnkey systems to offer a BSD to support RTM/RMCs on a monthly subscription basis.
Rosalind Benjamin FRSA and David Hills FRICS, FIIRSM, MIFireE, RSP, Ark Workplace Risk Ltd
