The Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety was announced by Government in July 2017 following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and was led by Dame Judith Hackitt which examined building and fire safety regulations and related compliance and enforcement with the focus on multi-occupancy high-rise residential buildings.
Dame Judith published her Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety in May 2018 and the Government committed to take forward all of her recommendations.
The Government published the consultation on its reforms, Building a Safer Future, in June 2019 and is currently analysing the responses.
The proposed new legislation will ensure building owners and developers prioritise residents’ safety over profit and will:
- provide clearer accountability for, and stronger duties on, those responsible for the safety of high-rise buildings throughout design, construction and occupation
- give residents a stronger voice in the system, ensuring their concerns are never ignored and they fully understand how they can contribute to maintaining safety in their buildings
- strengthen enforcement and sanctions to deter non-compliance with the new regime in order to hold the right people to account
- require that developers of new build homes must belong to a New Homes Ombudsman
The Regulator will oversee the design and management of buildings, with a strong focus on ensuring the new regime for higher-risk buildings is enforced effectively and robustly. It will also have the power to apply criminal sanctions to building owners who do not obey the new regime.
I am grateful that Dame Judith has agreed to advise my department on the new Building Safety Regulator.
Her expertise will be essential to forming a strong Regulator with teeth to ensure all residents are safe, and feel safe, in their homes both now and in the future.
Keep learning and complying with ARLA Propertymark
In 2019 we produced a new Fact Sheet on the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and updated our Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Fact Sheet as a resource for our members to download outlining the most up to date guidance on how to comply.
Fact sheet: Homes (Fitness For Human Habitation) Act 2018
This Act replaces Section 8 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) in England, with the purpose of improving living standards in the private and social rented sectors.
Image attribution: "Robert Jenrick Official MP Portrait" used under CC BY 3.0 / Cropped from original
