Building Safety Bill: Essential guide

The Building Safety Bill is the latest iteration of the Government’s legislative response to the Grenfell Tower fire and Dame Judith Hackitt’s 2018 review of the building industry, Building a Safer Future. It represents a wholesale reform of the regulatory system for building control and safety in England, and is designed to improve building and fire safety, with the primary aim of ensuring that residents will feel and be safer in their homes.

The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP presented the Bill to Parliament on 29 June 2021, stating that it will “ensure high standards of safety for people’s homes, and in particular for high rise buildings, with a new regulator providing essential oversight at every stage of a building’s lifecycle, from design, construction, completion to occupation.”

The Bill was published on 5 July 2021, along with Explanatory Notes and an Impact Assessment providing further details about key obligations. A second reading of the Bill was held in Parliament on 21 July 2021.

We have produced this essential guide to the Bill, which provides an overview of the key elements of the proposed law changes. We hope that this will help all those committed to delivering safer buildings get to grips with the Bill and help the building industry prepare for the coming changes.

To view the full guide, please click here.