Higher-risk buildings: are you ready?

The Building Safety Act (BSA) is a piece of legislation aimed at improving the safety of high rise residential properties, following the terrible Grenfell Disaster in 2017.

The BSA also provides explicit guidelines for the construction and management of higher-risk buildings (HRBs), prioritising the safety and peace of mind of their occupants. The BSA applies to all new buildings, while including additional requirements for those classed as higher-risk buildings.

 

Why does it apply to the commercial sector?

 

Strictly speaking it does not. However, if the building that you are intending to refurbish or fit out falls within the criteria of an HRB, the BSA will apply.

 

And what are higher-risk buildings?

 

 

If your building contains:

• Two or more residential units

AND is:

• Seven stories high, or has a top floor level of 18m from the ground floor level

AND (this is the critical bit):

• The residential and the commercial office space share an entrance and/or fire escape staircase

If your building meets all of this criteria, then it is likely that it is an HRB. This means the building regulations will then be controlled by the building safety regulator (HSE), rather than the traditional local authority or approved inspector route. Please see below a link to the register. Bear in mind this may not be complete yet: https://www.register-high-rise-building.service.gov.uk/public-register/search

 

So, what does it mean for you if the building does fall into this act?

 

The HSE has set up a new government body to deal with these applications called the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). You can no longer use an approved inspector.

The application focuses on the following steps:

• Step 1: Is the Contractor who will be designing and delivering your scheme COMPETENT to do this?
• Step 2: The application for building control approval will now be administered by the BSR
• Step 3: The BSR will administer the consultation process with the local Fire Authority

The main difference from the previous process is all the above has to be done PRIOR to you commencing any kind of fit out works, that would ordinarily require building control approval.

 

How does this affect the fit out process?

 

In a nutshell, DELAY. It currently adds roughly three months to the start of any project in our experience.

The BSR has an online portal where you need to submit proof of step 1, alongside a full design pack that will answer the questions raised in steps 2 and 3.

 

 

The BSR has to approve the application before the clock starts ticking. This means the contactor needs to prove their competence to design the project safely and that the application holds the correct information.  Once approved, the application is then reviewed to check its compliance with building regulations; this can take some time.

Once that stage is complete, the BSR will consult the fire authority – they then have 15 days.  All in all, the BSR have 8 weeks to complete this process.  In reality they can ask for an extension, and if that extension is not granted then the application will be rejected or cancelled, and the process will start again.

 

Summary

 

If a building falls under the HRB, your project will take longer to get to site.  The design process has to be fully completed before you can submit for approval. This is unlike the typical project where we work hand in hand with building control to ensure compliance at speed.

Please also remember, on completion and before occupation, the design and contracting team must apply for the final certification. This could add a further six weeks. It is illegal to occupy before the final certificate has been released.

 

How can HOP help

 

It’s important that you partner early with a design and build company who can guide you through this process and help you avoid delays. With regulators involved at an even earlier stage, and decisions at planning becoming harder and more costly to change later in the project, compliance from the initial design stages is key.

HOP has already managed this process for one of the first London commercial projects to be on-site after the BSA came into effect. Our team is fully aware of what is needed to manage the design and delivery of a higher-risk building.

If you would like to find out more, or want to chat to the team about how we can help, then please get in touch with us at info@hop.group.