The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) introduces complex regulatory requirements to enhance building safety, particularly for higher-risk and multi-occupancy buildings. The Act introduces a new Building Safety Regulator who is tasked with ensuring compliance with the new regulatory regime. Understanding and meeting these regulatory obligations is crucial for stakeholders and organisations to mitigate potential legal, financial, and criminal sanctions.
How we support your compliance with the BSA
Our real estate lawyers have extensive knowledge of the BSA and provide tailored advice and practical solutions in this complex and novel area of law.
We deliver clear, actionable guidance on your legal obligations under the BSA while considering the potential impacts on cost and project timelines. Examples of our expertise is as follows:
- Cost recovery for defective works
We advise on legal options for recovering costs related to defective works or use of defective materials. Our team helps identify available routes to protect against unexpected expenses and hold responsible parties accountable. We have a proven track record in making and defending claims in litigation, arbitration and adjudication to recover the cost of remedial works and acting for parties to building liability orders, remediation contribution orders and remediation orders.
- Safety cases for higher risk buildings
Our team assists with all aspects of compliance with the duty holder regime for higher risk buildings and responsible person duties, grounded in a thorough understanding of the BSA and Fire Safety Order. We support clients with compliance with the new in occupation obligations, identifying and addressing potential regulatory risks early and to ensure ongoing compliance with the duty holder regime and golden thread requirements regarding the keeping of prescribed documentation and information.
- Managing reputational damage
Having provided crisis management services to the country's biggest housebuilders for some years, following the publication of the Building Safety Bill, we build strong relationships with our clients and understand their operational and reputational risks. When it comes to managing the fallout from a paradigm shift in regulatory oversight, we are here to help with market-leading experience in all aspects of the building safety agenda.
- Negotiating construction contracts and compliance with the new gateway regime
We successfully negotiate construction contracts and advise on compliance with BSA during the build stage for new higher-risk buildings and remedial works to existing stock. Our team has experience in drafting building contracts to address the delays with the new three stage gateway regime, new competency requirements and the golden thread.
- Paying for remediation works
We advise landlords and leaseholders on the new leaseholder protections introduced by the BSA. These protections are designed to limit recoverability of remediation costs from certain leaseholders, where they fall within the protections introduced by the statute.
Supporting your real estate projects with expertise
Our team works with some of the UK's leading house builders including Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group. Notably, we secured a successful outcome in one of the first major post-Grenfell fire-safety and cladding cases, acting for the developer in the Technology & Construction Court (Naylor and others v Roamquest Ltd and another). This result, coupled with an insurance-funded remedial scheme, spared leaseholders from repair costs, showcases our ability to deliver effective, client focused solutions in high stake cases. Since then, we have gone on to secure the first of the decisions in relation to adjudicating historic DPA claims, opening the door to developers recovering the cost of historic defects without the need for costly and protracted litigation.
Whether you are assessing your current compliance, facing a building safety crisis, or seeking strategic advice on upcoming projects, our team is here to support you.
