‘Unprecedented in scope, scale and speed of implementation’ – four years of the Building Safety Act

Building safety practitioners will have noted the recent fourth anniversary of the Building Safety Act (BSA) receiving Royal Assent in 2022. Yet even at its relatively young age, the legislation is already approaching review. The secretary of state for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) must appoint an independent reviewer within five years of the Act being passed, with findings to be published by MHCLG.

Unprecedented in scope, scale and speed of implementation, the BSA and the plethora of regulations made under it constitute the most significant overhaul of building safety in 40 years. More than four years on, those caught by the regulations must continue to upskill. The primary and secondary legislation runs to more than 1,000 pages, excluding explanatory notes, and more than 35 statutory instruments have been passed under the BSA to date.

While parts of the legislation apply across the UK, the focus is on England and, in particular, so-called higher-risk buildings (HRBs): residential buildings that are 18m or more in height, or seven or more storeys tall.

The BSA aims to foster a safer and more accountable culture across the built environment, from planning through procurement and construction to the occupation of buildings. It established the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in England, whose key objectives include improving building safety standards and the performance of all buildings. The BSR oversees the more stringent building control regime for HRBs and enforces the in-occupation regime that applies to them.

A significant development occurred in January 2026, when the BSR officially moved from the Health and Safety Executive to become a standalone arm’s-length body under MHCLG, paving the way for the creation of a single construction regulator, a key recommendation of the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report.

The move followed the launch, in August 2025, of an Innovation Unit within the BSR, created specifically to address the backlog of HRB building control approval applications. The unit takes a centralised approach to accelerating the approval process, particularly for new-build HRB applications, and operational delivery is improving.

In recent years, almost all of the focus has been on the BSA, but it is important to remember that fire safety legislation forms an intrinsic part of the picture, and the two frameworks overlap. The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), the main piece of domestic fire safety legislation, applies to the structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and individual flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and section 156 of the BSA introduced additional duties for responsible persons under the FSO.

An area receiving less attention is the tightening of Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations to ensure that fire safety information is passed to the responsible person via a three-stage, auditable process. Separately, Regulation 38 of the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 sets out the information to be handed over upon completion of HRB projects. Both versions of Regulation 38 merit close attention.

The Building Regulations now include a new Part 2A (Dutyholders and Competence), modelled on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM), placing duties on construction clients, contractors and designers. Part 2A applies to all building works, not just HRBs and seeks to ensure that those involved in design and construction are competent to fulfil their roles. As under CDM, the client must appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor, both of whom carry additional duties in relation to HRB projects.

The BSA introduced a more stringent building control process for HRBs, comprising:

These requirements, which also extend to change control, are extremely detailed. The early appointment of building safety dutyholders and the HRB building control process are reshaping how projects are procured, with a move away from single-stage design and build towards two-stage and multi-stage models.

The BSA introduced new causes of action, including Remediation Orders, Remediation Contribution Orders, Building Liability Orders and claims against construction product manufacturers and suppliers for defects, mis-selling or non-compliance. It also extended the limitation period for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 and widened the Act’s scope to cover not just the provision of new dwellings, but also works to existing ones.

Not all of the BSA’s provisions have been implemented. The Building Safety Levy comes into force on 1 October 2026, the consultation on the Construction Products Reform White Paper closes on 20 May 2026, and the government has yet to produce the draft regulations implementing the BSA requirement for new-build home warranties.

Several consultations are ongoing, and the government continues to publish progress reports in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 recommendations. The detail is considerable, and those whose businesses must comply with the myriad instruments making up this regime need to navigate a complex and still-evolving regulatory landscape.

James Huckstep is Partner at Trowers & Hamlins.