Building Safety Act Requirements for Residential Blocks

Last updated: 2 October 2026

Priority First notes that the Building Safety Act 2022 requires owners and managers of higher-risk residential buildings — those at least 18 metres tall or with 7 or more storeys — to register with the Building Safety Regulator, appoint a Principal Accountable Person and maintain a safety case report. Around 12,500 buildings across England fall within this regime, according to RICS (2026).

Key Takeaways

• Higher-risk buildings are defined as at least 18 metres tall or with at least 7 storeys and 2 or more residential units, and Priority First notes this covers roughly 12,500 buildings in England, per RICS (2026).
• Priority First notes that registration with the Building Safety Regulator became mandatory by 30 September 2023, and occupying an unregistered higher-risk building has been a criminal offence since 1 October 2023, per Brady Solicitors (2026).
• Priority First highlights that cladding remediation across England could cost between £12.6 billion and £22.4 billion, with a central government estimate of £16.6 billion, per the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (2026).
• Government funding for remediation is capped at £5.1 billion, leaving private owners, social landlords and developers to fund the remainder, per the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (2026).
• Only 44% of identified unsafe-cladding social housing buildings had works started or completed as of June 2026, according to the GOV.UK Remediation Acceleration Plan update (2026).

What is the Building Safety Act and which residential blocks does it cover?

The Building Safety Act 2022 is UK primary legislation that created a new statutory regime for fire and structural safety in residential buildings, introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017. It applies most stringently to "higher-risk buildings" — a legally defined category under Section 65 of the Building Safety Act 2022, meaning residential buildings at least 18 metres in height or with at least 7 storeys, containing at least 2 residential units.

Roughly 12,500 such buildings exist across England, according to RICS (2026). Height measurement disputes are common, particularly for buildings with roof gardens, plant rooms or sloping sites, and getting this classification wrong carries legal consequences.

Buildings below this threshold are not exempt from safety duties altogether. Priority First points out that the Fire Safety Order and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 still apply to lower-rise blocks, meaning every residential block manager in England needs to understand which regime — or both — governs their building.

Who is the Principal Accountable Person under the Building Safety Act?

The Principal Accountable Person (PAP) is the organisation or individual with legal control of the structure and exterior of a higher-risk building, and it carries primary responsibility for managing building safety risks under Part 4 of the Act. Where a building has multiple owners or interests — freeholder, management company, resident-owned entity — there can be several Accountable Persons, but only one PAP.

The PAP's duties include registering the building with the Building Safety Regulator, preparing and maintaining a safety case report, and managing the "golden thread" of building information — a digital record of design, construction and safety data that must remain accessible throughout the building's life. The PAP must also set up a resident engagement strategy and a complaints procedure.

Mo Hassan, Managing Director of Priority First, has seen how compliance failures usually start with fragmented ownership of these duties: "Compliance fails quietly. Certificates lapse, checks get missed in handovers between contractors, and everything looks fine until an incident or a sale forces an audit. The fix is unglamorous: one owner for the whole compliance calendar, evidence filed as work is done, and no assumption that the previous contractor left things in order." Priority First's own guide, Fire Safety Duties for Building Owners and Managers, sets out these obligations in practical terms for facilities teams inheriting them mid-contract.

What is the Building Safety Regulator and what registration deadlines apply?

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is the national regulator, hosted within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), responsible for overseeing higher-risk buildings throughout their design, construction and occupation. The BSR has statutory powers to inspect buildings, demand safety case reports, issue compliance notices and refer serious breaches for prosecution.

All existing occupied higher-risk buildings had to be registered with the BSR by 30 September 2023, and from 1 October 2023 it became a criminal offence to occupy an unregistered higher-risk building, according to Brady Solicitors (2026). New higher-risk buildings must be registered before they can be occupied at all.

The BSR also runs the national register of building control professionals. As of 30 July 2026, there were 4,049 building professionals registered as building inspectors in England and Wales, per HSE Press Office (2026). Ged Cooper, Head of Building Control Professional Standards at the BSR, commented on this growth to Priority First: "We are encouraged by this steady increase in numbers and are pleased to see a consistent level of success in Class 2 and Class 3 and it's heartening that a high proportion are also Class 4 technical managers."

What safety case reports and mandatory occurrence reporting must accountable persons keep?

A safety case report is a formal document, required under the Building Safety Act, in which the Principal Accountable Person sets out how fire and structural safety risks in a higher-risk building are identified, assessed and controlled. It is not a one-off submission — it must be kept current and available for BSR inspection at all times.

Alongside the safety case, accountable persons must operate Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) — a duty to report to the BSR any structural or fire safety occurrence that presents a significant risk to life safety. This might include a serious fire, a partial structural failure or a discovery of unsafe cladding.

The "golden thread" of information underpins both requirements: a continuously updated digital record covering design decisions, materials, inspections and maintenance history. Priority First's Building Manager's Annual Compliance Calendar sets out how building managers can schedule these recurring checks so nothing lapses between contractor handovers — precisely the gap where compliance most often breaks down.

What are the costs of Building Safety Act compliance and who funds remediation?

Building Safety Act compliance carries substantial direct and indirect costs, dominated by cladding remediation rather than administrative registration fees. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) estimated in February 2026 that remediating dangerous cladding on all 9,000 to 12,000 buildings over 11 metres that may need it would cost between £12.6 billion and £22.4 billion, with a central estimate of £16.6 billion, per the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (2026).

Government funding does not cover this in full. Taxpayer contributions are capped at £5.1 billion, with private owners, social housing providers and developers paying the remainder, according to the same Public Accounts Committee report (2026). A further £3.4 billion is expected to be raised over at least 10 years through the new Building Safety Levy, intended to take effect from Autumn 2026, per the GOV.UK Remediation Acceleration Plan (2026).

The scale of the outstanding problem remains significant. The House of Lords Library (2026) estimates between 5,900 and 7,400 residential buildings of at least 11 metres in England have or had unsafe cladding requiring work.

Funding source	Amount	Notes
Total estimated remediation cost	£12.6bn–£22.4bn (central £16.6bn)	MHCLG estimate, Feb 2026, per PAC
Government (taxpayer) cap	£5.1bn	Remainder falls to owners, landlords, developers
Building Safety Levy	£3.4bn over 10+ years	New developments, from Autumn 2026
Remaining gap	Owners, social landlords, developers	Exact split still being worked through nationally

What are the penalties for non-compliance and how does the Act affect leaseholders?

Non-compliance with the Building Safety Act carries criminal liability, not just civil penalties. Occupying an unregistered higher-risk building has been a criminal offence since 1 October 2023, and the BSR can issue compliance notices, stop notices and refer directors or accountable persons for prosecution, per Brady Solicitors (2026).

For leaseholders, the Act introduced statutory protections limiting who pays for historic remediation. Qualifying leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres are generally protected from cladding remediation costs where the building owner or developer is responsible, under the leaseholder protections set out in GOV.UK's remediation costs guidance. This does not remove all cost exposure — non-cladding defects, interim safety measures such as waking watches, and service charge increases for ongoing compliance can still reach leaseholders, which is why transparent service charge reporting has become a flashpoint in many blocks since 2023.

In practice, disputes often surface where accountability for a building is split between multiple parties and nobody owns the whole picture. In a 16-building prime central London estate managed by Priority First, patrols and compliance checks were historically recorded per building in separate paper books, meaning the estate had no way to compare performance across the portfolio or confirm delivery against contract without ringing the office. Since March 2026, each building has run as its own site on a single platform, generating over 4,100 photographed, GPS-timestamped patrol records with 250–280 patrols per building — the same principle of single-owner accountability that the Building Safety Act now demands of PAPs across an entire estate.

Building Safety Act vs the Fire Safety Order: what's different?

The Building Safety Act 2022 sits alongside, rather than replacing, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — the Fire Safety Order, which places general fire safety duties on the "responsible person" for any non-domestic premises, including common parts of residential blocks. The Building Safety Act adds a stricter, additional regime specifically for higher-risk buildings, with its own regulator, registration system and criminal offences.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 tightened Fire Safety Order duties for all multi-occupied residential buildings, requiring things such as annual checks of fire doors in blocks above 11 metres. Buildings below the 18-metre or 7-storey higher-risk threshold remain subject to the Fire Safety Order and these 2022 regulations, but not to BSR registration, safety case reports or Principal Accountable Person duties.

For facilities managers running mixed portfolios, this means classifying every building correctly and tracking two overlapping but distinct compliance calendars — one under the Fire Safety Order for all blocks, and a second, heavier regime under the Building Safety Act for those above the higher-risk threshold.

Your Building Safety Act compliance checklist

• Confirm whether your building meets the 18-metre or 7-storey higher-risk threshold under Section 65 of the Building Safety Act 2022.
• Register any higher-risk building with the Building Safety Regulator before occupation, or immediately if already occupied and unregistered.
• Identify the Principal Accountable Person in writing and record all Accountable Persons where ownership is split.
• Establish and maintain the golden thread of building information covering design, construction and maintenance records.
• Prepare a safety case report and keep it current for BSR inspection at any time.
• Set up a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting process for fire and structural risks.
• Publish a resident engagement strategy and complaints procedure as required under the Act.
• Audit service charge accounts to confirm leaseholder protections on remediation costs are being correctly applied.

FAQ

What buildings fall under the Building Safety Act 2022?

Higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act are residential buildings at least 18 metres tall or with at least 7 storeys, containing at least 2 residential units. Around 12,500 such buildings exist in England, per RICS (2026), though lower-rise blocks remain subject to separate fire safety rules.

Who is the Accountable Person under the Building Safety Act?

The Accountable Person is any organisation or individual with a legal interest in the structure or common parts of a higher-risk building. Where multiple parties hold such interests, one is designated the Principal Accountable Person with overall responsibility for safety case reports and BSR registration.

What happens if a higher-risk building is not registered with the Building Safety Regulator?

Occupying an unregistered higher-risk building has been a criminal offence since 1 October 2023, following the 30 September 2023 registration deadline, per Brady Solicitors (2026). The Building Safety Regulator can also issue compliance and stop notices.

Do leaseholders have to pay for cladding remediation under the Building Safety Act?

Qualifying leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres are generally protected from cladding remediation costs where a developer or building owner is liable, under statutory protections detailed in GOV.UK's guidance. Other costs, such as interim fire safety measures, may still appear on service charges.

What is a safety case report?

A safety case report is a document required under the Building Safety Act in which the Principal Accountable Person demonstrates how fire and structural risks in a higher-risk building are managed. It must be kept up to date and made available to the Building Safety Regulator on request.

How much will Building Safety Act compliance cost building owners?

Total cladding remediation costs across England are estimated at between £12.6 billion and £22.4 billion, with a central estimate of £16.6 billion, per the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (2026). Government contributions are capped at £5.1 billion, leaving owners, social landlords and developers to fund the rest.

How is the Building Safety Act different from the Fire Safety Order?

The Fire Safety Order 2005 applies general fire safety duties to all non-domestic premises and residential common parts, while the Building Safety Act 2022 adds a stricter regime specifically for higher-risk buildings, including BSR registration and safety case reports. Both can apply simultaneously depending on a building's height and storey count.

Securing compliance across your residential block with Priority First

Meeting Building Safety Act requirements depends on continuous, provable evidence — patrol records, checkpoint logs, maintenance history and resident communication that a Principal Accountable Person can produce on demand. Priority First combines facilities management with SIA-licensed security under one accountable partner, precisely because compliance gaps tend to open in the handover between separate contractors, as Mo Hassan has noted from experience managing residential estates across London.

Priority First currently runs photographed, GPS-timestamped patrols across portfolios including a 16-building prime central London estate, with over 4,900 patrols completed and 100% of checkpoints carrying a watermarked photo record — the kind of documented evidence trail that supports a golden thread of building safety information rather than undermining it.

If your block needs a single partner covering Facilities Management alongside Building Audit & Risk Assessments, get in touch with Priority First for a compliance review and quote.

Related Reading

• Fire Safety Compliance Residential Blocks UK 2026 Guide
• Facilities Management Residential Blocks London | Priority First
• 4 Best Practices for Site Safety and Security in Construction

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