Building safety news roundup

Welcome to our building safety news round up, bringing you the latest insights, information, and updates.

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Building Control

It’s a legal requirement for all building inspectors and private sector businesses conducting building control work to be registered with BSR.  We have launched public registers where you can easily find details of registered building inspectors and control approvers in England and Wales.

This means that anyone can now check the registration status of individuals or organisations and the specific types of work they’re authorised to carry out. These registers offer transparency and accountability. Here are the registers for England:

Here are the registers for Wales:

Philip White, Director of Building Safety for HSE, recently outlined new transitional arrangements for the registration of building control inspectors in England Letter to industry: Registration of the Building Control Profession – transitional arrangements | HSE Media Centre

Check out the updated versions of the new mandatory professional codes and standards for the building control profession, which took effect from April 6, 2024 – links to the updated codes and standards.

Higher-risk buildings (HRBs)

If you’ve received building control approval from BSR for HRB projects, there are legal protocols to follow.

Whether it’s making a change control application for major alterations or notifying BSR about notifiable changes, it’s crucial to adhere to the guidelines. Remember, for major change applications, BSR must assess and approve before work commences, while work related to notifiable changes can only proceed after informing BSR. Find out how and when to make a change control application

Higher-risk building completion certificates are required after completing HRB projects. Read the guidance on applying for building completion certificates. To obtain these certificates, you’ll need the building control approval application reference and access to the original email address used for the application. These certificates are essential, especially for registering high-rise residential buildings.

Second staircases in new HRBs

In government news, updated guidance now requires second staircases in all new tall residential buildings over 18 meters. Read the statement which Secretary of State Michael Gove recently made, outlining the impact of these changes.

HRB Residents

BSR’s ‘Your Home, Your Safety’ is an exciting new campaign aimed at raising awareness among high-rise building residents in England about the new building safety regime and what it means for them. Phase one focuses on encouraging residents to visit the dedicated campaign page and sign up for newsletters.

If you’re a resident of a tall building in England or know someone who is, please visit and share the campaign link. Sharing this campaign within your networks can help spread awareness. Here’s more information: Visit ‘Your home, your safety’ 

Watch Sarah Newton’s vlog and learn more about the increased rights and protections for residents living in tall buildings. Our HSE chair explains the importance of putting HRB residents at the heart of our regulatory work.

Safety cases and costs

Addressing the issue of building safety cases and costs to leaseholders, HSE’s Director of Building Safety, Philip White and Housing Minister Lee Rowley recently issued an open letter to building managers regarding charges associated with managing safety in high-rise buildings. The joint letter acknowledged concerns and stressed the importance of ensuring that incurred costs remain proportionate to the overarching goal of enhancing building safety standards. Read the letter for further insights.

Both the government and BSR expect service charges to be reasonable, and effectively communicated to leaseholders. Leaseholders should be able to understand what they are being charged for and why, and how much it will cost.

Finally, get the latest building safety news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to HSE’s BSR eBulletin for expert insights and important updates: HSE ebulletin service – Subscribe to HSE’s BSR eBulletin (govdelivery.com)