The Building Safety Act 2022 was brought into force on 28th April 2022, with many of the provisions coming into legal effect from 1 October 2023.
Common misconceptions about the Building Safety Act (the Act) include:
- It only applies to higher risk buildings, i.e. those over 18 metres in height or more than 7 stories with at least 2 residential units.
- It only applies to social housing and residential buildings.
- Complying with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, means we already comply with the Act.
Of course, there are special provisions within the Act that focus on higher risk buildings; however, it does actually apply in some way to all buildings. This Act was created as a direct response to the findings from the Grenfell tower enquiry to bring about fundamental change and prevent such tragedies.
Does this apply to me? It does if you have any involvement in roles within the built environment and construction, such as:
- Managing commercial buildings and offices, plus other settings such as hospitals, schools and care homes.
- Design related to alteration to, renovation, the change of use of buildings, as well as new buildings. Indeed, any project that requires Building Control approval.
- Supplying construction products that will be used when related to the fabric of the building structure.
- Supply of services, such as building design, advice, architecture, fire risk assessment and other suppliers to building managers and contractors.
- Contractors involved with construction, development and building alteration.
How is the Building Safety Act different from CDM Regulations?
It’s a common misconception that complying with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) means you automatically comply with the Building Safety Act 2022. While both are essential to construction and building management, they serve distinct purposes and apply in different ways.
CDM Regulations – Focus on Health & Safety
The CDM Regulations are all about managing health and safety risks during construction projects. They apply to all types of construction work, from small domestic jobs to large commercial developments. The key aim is to ensure that everyone involved—from clients to contractors—works safely and avoids harm.
Building Safety Act – Focus on Regulatory Compliance
The Building Safety Act was introduced to improve building safety and regulatory oversight, especially in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. It focuses on ensuring buildings are safe to occupy, structurally sound, and compliant with building regulations—particularly around fire safety and materials.
Principal Designer – Two Roles, Different Duties
Both regulations use the term Principal Designer, but the responsibilities differ:
- Under CDM, the Principal Designer manages health and safety during the design phase and has additional duties to co-ordinate design and communications into the building phase (many of the previous CDM Co-ordinator’s role).
- Under the Building Safety Act, the Building Regulations have been amended so that the Principal Designer ensures the design complies with all functional requirements of the building regulations.
These roles may be held by the same person or organisation, and originally it was envisaged by Parliament that they could be potentially delivered by the same party. However, in practice, they require different competencies and legal responsibilities. Therefore, those undertaking these roles (or indeed, appointing others to deliver it) need to ensure they hold all the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours (SKEB) to fulfil their requirements, and if an organisation – this includes ‘organisational capability’.
The duties on Clients, Designers and Contractors (including Principal Contractors) have also been similarly amended, so everyone in the supply chain holds duties to ensure compliance with the functional requirements of the Building Regulations.
Why This Matters
If you’re involved in building design, construction, or management, it’s important to understand that:
- CDM compliance does not equal Building Safety Act compliance.
- You may need to appoint separate duty holders for each regulation, and it depends on the specific needs and scope of the Project.
- The Building Safety Act introduces new legal duties, especially for projects requiring building control approval.
What do I do now?
- Seek competent advice. You have a legal duty to get competent health and safety advice. This can be someone within your business or externally (or a mix of both), with the desired knowledge, qualifications and experience.
Advice will need to be specific to building safety and not just occupational safety and health. - Review how you manage the competency of your teams. A fundamental part of the Act (and other regulations) is the ability to have a competency management system to demonstrate SKEB and how you have assessed others before making any appointments/procurement decisions.
- Review and be mindful of SKEB and your processes, where roles are relevant, versus the British Standard BS 860-1:2024 and associated standards and guidance.
- If you are a Responsible Person for fire safety, also check out this blog: Fire safety in the workplace: role of the Responsible Person.
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This article was co-written by Vita Safety’s Managing Director, Ian Hutchings, and Regulatory Partner at Bexley Beaumont Limited, Emma Evans.
