In the case of occupied buildings with two or more residential units and a height of at least 18 meters, or seven stories, the Principal Accountable Person, who may be an organization, business, or individual, will be in charge of mitigating and overseeing building safety risks and enforcing the requirements of the Building Safety Act. This person is required to prepare a Safety Case Report. It is imperative that you finish the Safety Case Report because you will need it when applying for a building assessment certificate, which verifies that the Building Safety Regulator is satisfied that the necessary obligations have been fulfilled.

The Safety Case Report needs to include proof of:

The evaluation of every building safety risk, including structural and fire hazards, as well as any acceptable controls that have been put in place or will be implemented to reduce these risks (such as preventative measures and procedures to lessen the severity of potential repercussions).
Once a Safety Case Report has been completed (or changed), it must be notified as soon as reasonably practical to the Building Safety Regulator, a new government entity housed inside the Health and Safety Executive that will regulate high-rise buildings in the UK. When a Safety Case Report is requested by the Building Safety Regulator, it must be supplied as soon as it is reasonably possible.

As of right now, there are no plans to create a template Safety Case Report, and the laws pertaining to the report are still being drafted. As a result, the requirements could alter.

According to available data, safety case reports ought to, as a general rule, contain the following details:

The building name, postal address, and pictures indicating the building’s location (together with, if relevant, a synopsis of the larger development and any shared amenities).
Details of the Relevant Persons (complete name, email address, and phone number):
the owner of the building; the principal accountable person; other accountable persons; and, in cases where applicable, the responsible person(s) under the FSO (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005);
Information about any outside parties that helped create the Safety Case Report.
An explanation of the building’s construction, including its height, number of stories, type of residents, external walling systems, and other details.
Risk evaluation and mitigation strategies:
Control measures in place right now; recognized or upcoming actions;
Determine what could go wrong, what could exacerbate the situation, any possible repercussions, and any mitigating measures;
fire plan;
The building’s structural stability is examined and maintained.
An account of the surveys or investigations that were conducted.
Information about your safety management system, such as: key personnel roles and duties; key personnel competency; performance monitoring; risk assessment; maintenance; management; emergency planning.

Plans for emergencies.

Process for reporting incidents and complaints.

Specifics of the approach for resident engagement.

The Safety Case Report’s primary purpose is to demonstrate that the Accountable Person(s) has(have) thought about the main structural and fire dangers and risks, as well as how those risks are being and will be managed and controlled. Additionally, it should specify when and how the report will be reviewed. The Safety Case Report can then be employed as a tool to demonstrate that managing building safety hazards has been done in a reasonable manner and will continue to be done so.

For companies of all sizes operating in the construction sector, familiarizing oneself with the requirements of the Building Safety Act is vital.

Therefore, the importance of paying attention to what is required to comply with Building Safety rules and taking action to put in place systems and controls so you can demonstrate compliance cannot be stressed. Do not wait until it is too late.

You can get more details and recommendations about the Building Safety Act by getting in touch with the Hill Dickinson LLP Construction team or visiting the Health and Safety Executive website: Building safety – HSE.